The Asia Pacific (APAC) region’s adventure travel segment is showing a continued strong recovery. In 2023, the average number of guests per operator with a headquartered country in Asia was 2,636, a strong upward trend from 2020-2022, and approaching the 2019 average number of 3,263. Trip fill rates are also strong, with APAC’s 2023 62% rate nearing the global 2023 average of 65%.
The composition of guests for Asia-based tour operator guests has also seen a jump toward FITs, made up of families (26% from 17% in 2022) and couples (33% from 20%), whilst the percentage handling groups has decreased to 24% from 2019’s 49%.
Primary Source & Host Markets
India has emerged as an important adventure travel source market over the past two years, with 4% of responding tour operators naming it as their primary source of guests, making it the fifth largest source market.
While no APAC destinations were in the top seven host markets in this year’s research, Japan featured in 4th place in last year’s report, and this list tends to fluctuate due to short-term trends and responding operators. This also aligns with Japan moving up to 4th place in the top 5 global travel markets, with travel contributing $297 billion to its economy in 2023.
Hottest Trending Destinations
As with the primary host markets list, destinations become popular for different reasons. North-East Asia climbed from #14 to #4, influenced by the reopening of China in March 2023 and the depreciation of the Japanese yen vs the US Dollar. South-East Asia also saw upward movement, from #10 to #7.
However, South Asia and Oceania both decreased in popularity in 2023 as an adventure travel destination. This could be due to a multitude of factors: higher airfares, a natural leveling-off from the post-COVID border reopening surge last year, or simply a swing in popular culture and consumer preferences.
Top Trending Activities
Hiking/ trekking/ walking is consistently the top adventure activity across the globe, and this year is no exception for both the APAC region and worldwide. Cultural activities are also very popular in the APAC region, having seen strong growth since 2021, although this year it shares its popularity with other activities like camping and climbing, which are uniquely popular in the APAC region. Culinary adventures trended downward for the APAC region (#4) compared to worldwide (#2), despite gastronomy being known as a popular reason to visit many APAC destinations.
“Japan in particular stands out as a destination that has seen a huge surge in popularity since it fully re-opened in Spring 2023, ” noted ATTA member Matt Blench, Director of EXO Adventure. “Cycling and trekking tours are by far the two most popular adventure activities and demand is outstripping supply. Indonesia has exploded back onto the scene, especially as a trekking and climbing destination combined with camping. We've seen 100% growth in 2024 when compared to 2019."
Sustainability Certifications a Focus
Tour operators headquartered in the APAC region have also seen slightly more interest in sustainability certification than the rest of the world, with 57% of APAC respondents holding or pursuing some kind of certification, compared to 51% in other regions.
Future Predictions
“Looking into 2025, I think we can expect to see hiking and cultural activities stay in the top five most popular adventure activities for APAC,” said Hannah Pearson, Regional Director APAC at ATTA.
“I also expect to see Oceania trending as a destination once more, driven by a greater focus on adventure travel in general from the region. However, it will be interesting to watch if camping and climbing maintain their popularity, or if they are a flash in the pan for the region, being new entrants in 2024.”
“We believe that there is so much potential in APAC as both an adventure travel destination and also source market,” Pearson added. “After last year’s Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido, we are working closely with the Japan National Tourism Organisation to run our signature AdventureWeek in Okinawa, as well as with Tourism Fiji to hold AdventureNEXT in Fiji in November.”
“We’re excited to partner with ITB Asia in October for the third consecutive year to run an adventure travel-focused session during the show, and bring the community together.”
The Adventure session will be held on 24 October, from 3:30-6:00 pm at the Knowledge Theatre, and will delve deeper into trends within adventure travel, over-tourism and partnerships to create a more sustainable tourism industry, followed by an open networking event for all those who are associated with the adventure travel industry, AdventureConnect.
Methodology Note
The 2024 Adventure Travel Industry Snapshot survey defined the regions of Asia and Oceania as follows:
- South-East Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.)
- North-East Asia (Japan, South Korea, etc.)
- India/South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc.)
- Central Asia (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.)
- Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific Islands)