OUTDOOR ADVENTURE TOURISM, WELLNESS, AND PLACE ATTACHMENT

Chapter 10 OUTDOOR ADVENTURE TOURISM, WELLNESS, AND PLACE ATTACHMENT Cory Kulczycki University of Alberta, Canada Michael Lück AUT University, New Z...
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Chapter 10

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE TOURISM, WELLNESS, AND PLACE ATTACHMENT Cory Kulczycki University of Alberta, Canada

Michael Lück AUT University, New Zealand Abstract: Spa and health tourism have long been recognized as an important sector of the tourism industry. After changes in health insurance legislation, especially in central Europe, many destinations diversified into wellness tourism offers. The concept of wellness is a more holistic approach, including pleasure, health, and spirituality. Although not traditionally recognized as wellness tourism, outdoor and adventure recreation and tourism can be active contributors to health and wellbeing. The issues of risk and place attachment, and their relationship to wellness, are the focus of this chapter, concluding with proposing future research directions. Keywords: Adventure tourism, outdoor recreation, risk, place

Introduction Wellness tourism and recreation have long been associated with spas and health facilities. Traditionally, these focused on rehabilitation and treatment of illnesses, and were in most cases prescribed by a doctor. However, this view was widened by the emergence of the idea of “wellness,” as an expression of the interrelationship between pleasure, health, and spirituality. In other words, it is a combination of fitness and wellbeing (Schobersberger, Greie and Humpeler 2004). In 1976, Hettler introduced a six-dimensional wellness model in hexagonal shape. The hexagon consist of six elements (life dimensions to balance), including social, intellectual, spiritual, physical, emotional, and occupational wellness (Hettler 2006). In the following years, many authors changed the hexagon into a circle, and referred to it 165

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as the Wellness Wheel (Figure 10.1), probably because it is a more common and recognizable shape (Motorine 2006). The important features of the wheel are that it is a holistic approach, and that all six “spokes” are equally important. If a spoke is removed, the wheel would be unbalanced, or not “roll” at all (Wellness and Recreation Committee 2003). Schofield states that “tourism plays a vital role in contributing to people’s wellbeing” (2004:135). The large sector of outdoor and adventure recreation and tourism is not commonly associated with wellness tourism. However, recently there have been substantial growths in the number of people participating in outdoor recreation (Plummer 2005), adventure recreation (Gyimothy and Mykletun 2004), and adventure tourism (Cater 2006). These activities all depend on similar factors: the participant, and a place for participation to occur. As adventure activities become increasingly popular, recreationists and tourists will face challenges in finding a place to recreate that is special to them. While previous research on outdoor and adventure activities and adventure tourism has been done independently, the literature has not created a strong connection between the place and adventure tourism. More specifically, researchers have only begun to examine the possibilities that adventure tourists could become attached to a specific place in a similar manner as residents, and recreationists. Warzecha and Lime state “The close relationship between humans and their surroundings often leads to the development of an attachment to significant places that . . . hold a special value or meaning” (2001:60). This “special value or meaning” of the place, in relation to outdoor and adventure recreation, also has a significant influence on wellness. Place attachment relates to the emotional and spiritual spokes of the wellness wheel, but can also correspond with the intellectual, physical, and social spokes. It is thus important for resource managers, guides, tour operators, and the like to develop an understanding of how people become attracted to a place, and through interacting with a specific place through adventure activities they can create an attachment to that place. This chapter will explore the concept of adventure tourism as it progressed through the fields of outdoor recreation and adventure recreation, and its relation-

Figure 10.1. The Wellness Wheel (Motorine 2006)

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ship to wellness and wellbeing. The literature on adventure tourism and adventure recreation activities will then be used to elaborate on the importance of risk and place within the interrelationship of place attachment and the adventure tourism participant.

Outdoor Recreation, Adventure, and Wellness Outdoor recreation can be considered as an overarching term, because it acts as foundation for adventure recreation and adventure tourism through the commonality of activities and settings. Outdoor recreation has typically been defined as “a behavior that: 1) involves voluntary participation in free time activity, 2) occurs in the outdoors, and 3) embraces interaction of people with the natural environment” (Plummer 2005:19). Virden (2006) continues by explaining that the participants within outdoor recreation have a wide variety of activities to choose from. Each activity results in an experience that is created through the participants’ motivations and the importance of interacting with the natural environment. These motivations and interactions vary depending on the activity and location (Virden 2006). A further subset of outdoor recreation and tourism is wilderness recreation/tourism. Hall and Page state that the experiential values associated with wilderness “highlight the importance of the `wilderness experience’ for recreationists and tourists” (2002:259). Examples of outdoor recreation activities include hiking, fishing, boating, and hunting (Ewert 1989).

Adventure Recreation and Tourism Adventure has been identified as an important component of outdoor recreation and as such, the term outdoor recreation has been used interchangeably “with adventure recreation and/or adventure pursuits” (Plummer 2005:309). Although outdoor adventure recreation falls under the concept of outdoor recreation, the activities that are typically associated with outdoor adventure recreation are often associated with “elements of danger and adventure” (Virden 2006:310). Therefore, these activities include white-water canoeing, rafting, sky diving, mountaineering, and rock climbing (Ewert 1989),and caving, mountain biking, ocean kayaking, white-water rafting, and skiing (Virden 2006). In expanding Ewert’s (1989) definition of adventure recreation, Ewert, Galloway and Estes define adventure recreation as “Recreational and/or educational activities utilizing a close interaction with the natural environment, that contain elements of real or perceived risk and danger, in which the outcome, while uncertain, can be influenced by the participant and circumstance” (2001:27). Adventure recreation “activities often carry desires on the part of the participants for risk taking, challenge, sensation seeking, achievement, competence, and testing one’s skills” (Virden 2006:310), which Ewert (1989) suggests are missing from other forms of recreation and education.

Adventure Tourism Adventure tourism is often acknowledged as a component of special interest tourism (Hall 1992), which evolved from the human desire to seek adventure through

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traveling (Plummer 2005) and experiencing the adventures of other explorers (Kane and Tucker 2004), to seeking outdoor recreation and adventure opportunities (Plummer 2005). While it is usually the individual who creates their own experiences, it is the commercial sector that is responsible for creating the adventure tourism product (Hall 1992), although some adventure tourists are independent travel organizers (Hall 1992). Beedie and Hudson identify “Three key factors [that] have facilitated the emergence of adventure tourism… These factors are a deferring of control to experts, a proliferation of promotional media including brochures, and the application of technology in adventurous settings” (2003:627). Even though the adventure tourist is motivated by the removal or distancing of the comforts and routines of everyday, Beedie and Hudson suggest that the “three key factors” create a comfort zone between the amenities of home and those lacking in a true adventure setting. Adventure tourism is the combination of travel, sport, and outdoor recreation (Beedie and Hudson 2003), which highlights the purpose of experiencing an element of risk and danger by participants (Hall 1992). Hall defined adventure tourism as: A broad spectrum of outdoor touristic activities, often commercialized and involving an interaction with the natural environment away from the participant’s home range and containing elements of risk; in which the outcome is influenced by the participant, setting, and management of the touristic experience (1992:143) Many of the those associated with adventure recreation are possible as adventure tourism activities. They include backpacking, mountaineering, rappelling, rockclimbing, sea kayaking, snowshoeing, white-water rafting, mountain biking, and the like (Hall 1992). Adventure tourism provides participants with an experience that Hall (1992) suggests uses the natural environment as a “background” to the activity and associated risk perception. As with adventure recreation, risk is an important component. Interested tourists appear to be willing to accept the risks associated with attaining specific experiences within specific locations (Cater 2006). Within adventure tourism it is typically the duty of the tour operator or opportunity provider to consider the real and perceived risk (Hall 1992). The tour operators or opportunity providers need to balance the risk and challenge of the activity with the participants’ opportunity to achieve the desired sensation or flow experience, as discussed earlier (Hall 1992). Cater (2006) has identified that risk and flow are often associated with adventure tourism, but he highlights that the tourist is more inclined to find opportunities that result in fear and thrills. There is something about the thrills and risks that draw the attention of adventure tourists (Beedie and Hudson 2003); their participation results in activities that they perceive are “fundamentally about pleasure and fun” (Cater 2006:323). According to the latter source, participating in adventure tourism activities the tourists are able to create experiences and interact with specific places.

Adventure and Risk Although Kane and Tucker (2004) argue that the dominant focus on risk in adventure recreation and tourism obscures some of the other associated experiences,

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such as problem solving, stress management, social interactions, fun, exhilaration, excitement, and accomplishment, risk (both perceived and actual) is indeed an important component of the adventure experience, and tourist wellbeing (Bentley and Page 2001). Risk arises from a combination of the activity, the equipment, the skill of the participant, and the environment in which the activity is taking place (Brown 1999). Ewert goes as far as to suggest that “What distinguishes these [adventure recreation] activities from those more commonly associated with outdoor recreation is a deliberate seeking of risk and uncertainty of outcome often referred to as adventure” (1989:8). Adventure has always been associated with risk, danger, and uncertainty. “The overarching concept present in all definitions of adventure recreation is the idea of perceived risk. Perceived risk is the amount of risk or danger a person feels is inherent in a given situation” (Plummer 2005:312). Furthermore, perceived risk is subjective as it depends on the perspective of the participant. Ewert et al (2001) identified seven dimensions of perceived risk: physical, psychological, financial, functional, satisfaction, time, and social. They identified the physical and psychological dimensions as being the most important in determining a participant’s perceived risk. For example, McIntyre and Roggenbuck (1998) stated that the tourists’ response to the perceived risk, while on a black-water rafting tour in New Zealand, determined whether the challenge and experience were viewed as acceptable or unacceptable. The rapid growth of adventure tourism is living proof of the fact that there is a certain risk attached to these activities. However, because most adventurers are looking for activities with a “calculated” risk, so-called soft adventure providers are probably the predominant type of adventure tourism operators. They provide unskilled tourists with the necessary transport, equipment, specialized clothing, skilled guides, and—if necessary—short training sessions prior to the activity (Buckley 2004). Actual risk is the true danger associated with the activity. Through the associated risk there is potential to experience loss; this loss can come in many forms, as Quinn described: The price of failure is always the same—there is loss. However small or great depends upon what has been originally risked. Loss, the result of error, may be physical (the skinning of the knee or the forfeiture of life), emotional (hurt feelings or the shattering of self-confidence), intellectual (a missed exam question or a situation where one’s ideas are compelled to crumble), a social (a lonely afternoon or ostracism by peers), or spiritual (a momentary lapse into indifference or the devastation of cherished beliefs). Inevitably, there is causality (1999:150). Similarly, Alexander quoted mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who described the important aspect that he felt was associated with adventure when he stated, “Without the possibility of death . . . adventure is not possible” (2006:44). Messner is highlighting the potential for loss, in his case the loss of life. Although risk is an important element of adventure, researchers have identified other elements that are necessary for adventure to occur. Although most research on adventure activities associates risk as the primary motive for participation, Fave, Bassi and Massimini (2003) found that the six moun-

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taineers they studied were more interested in a challenging experience than they were an experience based on risk and danger. This exemplifies that there is another important component of adventure: the experience. Quinn stated that the achievement of the experience is of intrinsic importance to the individual: Adventure. Adventure speaks of beginning, boldness, and power. Adventure connotes participation and active involvement in life. An adventure, a quest, begins because of human desire, a drive to experience that which is hidden and unknown (1999:149). Quinn continued, similar to Ewert (1989) and Gyimothy and Mykletun (2004), by suggesting that the quest for adventure experiences comes from the search for elements that are missing from an individual’s current lifestyle. For Quinn adventure is comprised of internal attributes, such as the spiritual, the emotional, and the intellect, which influence the experience. Priest (1999) explained that the experience of adventure evolves from the uncertain outcomes associated with adventure through the risks and challenges of participation. Priest continued by identifying that adventures are defined by the individual based on the individual’s skills, experiences, and perceptions, and that people will choose adventures that will lead to an optimal arousal. Morgan, Moore and Mansell expand to explain that the adventure experience is impacted by “previous experiences, emotional responses, and the nature of the outcomes emanating from the adventure” (2005:74). The importance of an adventure experience is highlighted further by the work of Csikszentmihalyi in terms of the concept of flow, about which he suggests is: the holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement— as flow. In the flow state, action follows upon action according to an internal logic that seems to need no conscious intervention by the actor. He experiences it as a unified flowing of his actions, and in which there is little distinction between self and environment, between stimulus and response, or between past, present, and future (1975:36). Through the task being undertaken an individual within the flow experience is concentrating on the moment, and not focusing on the scale of the entire task as a whole (Plummer 2005). Therefore, the individual has a connection to the task and the environment or place. A flow experience is highlighted by mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who is quoted in Alexander as stating “So when I start to climb, I am so concentrated that there is nothing else existing. In this concentration, everything seems quite logical. The danger is gone. But the concentration is absolute” (2006:54). Similarly, Freischlag and Freischlag (1993) found that rock climbers did experience flow and positive mood changes while they are participating in their activity. It has been identified that flow experiences will vary from individual to individual and from setting to setting, which is justified because different participants are motivated by different outdoor and adventure activities (Ewert 1989). Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi identify flow as the movement towards a rewarding experi-

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ence. They continue to highlight the importance of flow to adventure by commenting that “it responds to the human desire for novelty, discovery, uncertainty and problem solving” (1999:156). Bentley and Page (2001) contend that adventure activities can potentially impact on the physical wellbeing of the participant, and thus caution management to ensure that the excitement and challenge posed by risk be managed with appropriate safety and management measures. They note that it is important to “understand human wellbeing and the factors which impact upon it in different contexts, such as the leisure environment,” which “requires the contribution of different disciplines to be synthesized to contribute to analyses about specific tourist outcomes in time and space” (Bentley and Page 2001:706). It can be summarized that outdoor adventure experiences are comprised of an interaction with the natural environment (place), an element of risk or danger, and an uncertain outcome (Ewert 1989; Plummer 2005). It is also important for adventure participants to create or participate in an experience that they deem rewarding and challenging (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi 1999).

Place The many features found within the natural and slightly modified environment have attracted people to engage in a variety of activities in a variety of places (Virden 2006). Virden explains how many North American people feel a special connection to natural places and settings that are directly linked to their recreation and desires to interact with the natural environment. Many people feel a special connection with the majestic grandeur and natural setting of a national park like Banff or Yosemite. Some of the attributes that draw people to natural settings include beauty, colors, water, wildlife, forests, scene complexity, and light shading. However, the environmental setting is more than just the physical environment; it also includes the social environment and managerial environment (2006:322). As mentioned earlier, the quote above clearly shows how place attachment relates to the various spokes of the wellness wheel (Figure 10.1). By conducting activities within the natural environment people will create attachments to those setting in which they are familiar (Greider and Garkovich 1991). Therefore, it is possible to understand how outdoor and adventure recreation participants can have a preferable activity setting, especially in terms of achieving a specific experience. When this experience is combined with the social and cultural meanings of individuals and groups it is possible to see that they will become attached or associated with a specific place (Virden 2006). Places can be identified as a combination of social connections, settings, landscapes, rituals, routines, in relation to other places, and personal experiences (Fishwick and Vining 1992; Kruger 2006; Low and Altman 1992). The association of meanings to a place is referred to as place attachment. Place attachment is a bond or link that someone has with a specific place (Hidalgo and Hernandez 2001; Low and Altman 1992). “The word `attachment’ emphasizes affect; the word `place’ focuses on the environmental settings to which people

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are emotionally and culturally attached” (Low and Altman 1992:5). Low and Altman explain that “place attachment involves an interplay of affect and emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and behaviors and actions in reference to a place” (1992:5) because there is an important interaction between human behaviors and place (Kyle, Graefe and Manning 2004b, 2005). Therefore, place attachment involves the integration of attachment (affect, cognition, and practice), the place (with various scales, specificity, and tangibility), the actors (different individuals, groups, and cultures), social relationships (of individuals, groups, and cultures), and the temporal aspects (linear and cyclical) (Low and Altman 1992). As such, place attachment can be defined as “a positive affective bond between an individual and a specific place, the main characteristic of which is the tendency of the individual to maintain closeness to such a place” (Hidalgo and Hernandez 2001:274). Low and Altman (1992) highlighted that many authors have suggested that place attachment linked to positive memories and experiences, but they also suggested that negative memories and experiences can lead to place attachment. The importance of place can be seen through place attachment, which is comprised of two basic aspects, place dependence and place identity (Proshansky, Fabian and Kaminoff 1983). Place dependence is the association of a specific place and features that would be applicable for a specific activity (Virden 2006) and the perception of how well that place meets the spatial requirements of that specific activity (Moore and Graefe 1994). For example, a tall rock cliff in the mountains is typically associated with the adventure recreation activities of rock climbing and base jumping (Virden 2006). Place identity is defined as “those dimensions of self that define the individual’s personal identity in relation to the physical environment by means of a complex pattern of conscious and unconscious ideas, beliefs, preferences, feelings, values, goals, and behavioral tendencies and skills relevant to this environment” (Proshansky 1978:155). Furthermore, Moore and Graefe (1994) explain that place identity is created over a long period of interactions with place to result in meanings, which can lead to attachment to a place. Through the continued use and creation of experiences it is possible for meanings and/or identities to become associated with a specific place. For example, a climbing route called “the nose” on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park has become associated with rock climbing culture and especially for the individuals who have climbed the route. Within recreational activities, place attachment was linked to a number of responses: prior experience, including personal interaction with a place was found to have an impact on positive impact place attachment (Fishwick and Vining 1992; Moore and Graefe 1994); place attachment increased with an increase in setting/ place use (Kruger 2006); similarly, with an increase in skill level there was an increase in association with place identity (Kyle et al 2004b); the type and level of attachment of recreationists can influence setting preferences and behaviors (Kyle, Bricker, Graefe and Wickham 2004a; Kyle et al 2004b); and the level of attachment varies for different recreationists in different settings (Fishwick and Vining 1992; Kyle et al 2004a). Often when researchers discuss place attachment they suggest that it is only applicable to residents and repeat users of a specific place. Gustafson (2001) suggested that individuals who travel for pleasure or work can also become attached to a specific place.

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Adventure Tourism and Place On the surface it appears that adventure tourism participants can be involved in an experience that will have all of the applicable elements for place attachment to occur. For instance, Beedie and Hudson (2003) exemplify the association of adventure tourism and place by defining mountain adventure tourism as the one that takes place within the mountainous environment. The important element is that tourists are interacting in a mountainous region with the associated social elements and perceived risks that are often associated with adventure. Beedie and Hudson (2003) comment on how new technology and commercialization are taking away the risks typically associated with mountaineering and generally adventure recreation as a whole. Beedie and Hudson stated that the tour operators are “tread[ing] a careful line between selling adventure as an idea and delivering the same as an experience. In this respect, adventure is socially constructed and subjected to a process of commodification” (2003:629). From this perspective it does not seem possible for adventure tourists to develop an attachment to place. Often the tourists are not obtaining a true experience of place and adventure because they are traveling with a guide who supervises their experience, which is often associated with a higher luxury than true adventure recreationists (Beedie and Hudson 2003). Even though the adventure tourists are involved socially with their group, other tourists, and their guides and involved through geographical interactions with the natural environment, the tourists are not experiencing the place as they would if they were independent adventurers and tourists. In an interview, mountaineer Reinhold Messner suggested “If you have a highway on Everest, you don’t meet the mountain. If everything is prepared, and you have a guide who is responsible for your security, you cannot meet the mountain. Meeting the mountains is only possible if you…are out there in self-sufficiency” (Alexander 2006:49). Messner’s sentiments are similar to that of Beedie and Hudson (2003) and Beedie (2003); the experience is not truly adventure when a tour operator or guide is involved in creating the experience. Conversely, some adventure tourists have alluded to the possibility of developing an attachment to place. Kane and Tucker (2004) conducted a study of the experiences of participants on a 14-day white-water, heli-kayaking tour on the South Island of New Zealand. They found that participants developed a perception of the experience from previous experience, anticipation, photographs, and stories. While on the tour the participants discussed previous trips and reminisced about other experiences. Although the study by Kane and Tucker did not investigate place attachment, it is possible to see that it did evolve for certain participants: The image of this destination provided status, as Shane described as he anticipated returning to his kayaking club: “everybody’s antenna goes up and they start grilling you about what it was like.” The images participants were retaining on their digital cameras and the stories they were already telling perpetuated the destinations prestigious images (2004:229). This quote highlights the experience created from interacting with the place and fellow participants and trip guides created meaning for the trip.

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The attachment to place can also be presented through written documents that highlight a series of events in which an individual or individual interact with a specific place. McCarthy explained that the climbing narratives show that nature is something to be conquered, something to be appreciated and something that can influence perceptions of self. He continued to explain that “mountaineering narratives describe an actual connection between the human subject and the natural object” (2002:191). Therefore, through a mountaineer’s description of his/her experiences the reader can develop an understanding of the mountaineer’s perception and possible attachment to a place, as McCarthy suggested So, instead of presenting climbers as mystic seekers or cheerless masochists who incidentally rub shoulders with the sublime, these climbing narratives suggest that mountaineering is an activity that enforces an experience of place qua place and thereby breaks down the usual hegemony of space. To recognize place in this way—and here is the move I ask readers to consider—is to perceive the presence of an actual give and take, an integration, between the natural setting and the visiting human subject (2002:188). McCarthy in essence has highlighted place attachment as characterized by Low and Altman (1992), including the attachment, the place, and the human and nature interaction. Similar to McCarthy (2002), Nettlefold and Stratford also reviewed mountaineering (and climbing) literature; they reviewed climbing guidebooks instead of narratives. They proposed that “Climbing discourses mediate the exploration, naming, quantification, and the textual and pictorial representation of the environment” (1999:130). Nettlefold and Stratford explained how the guidebooks explain the history of the human interaction with the geographic landscape and in essence reveals some of the social interactions of climbing as well. Their description of the guidebooks seems to create the place for attachment to occur through the interaction of people with the natural environment through a risk taking activity. In further explaining the establishment of place meaning they referenced Berg and Kearns (1996) (cited in Morgan et al 2005), who suggested that people establish the meanings of a place through naming, a guidebook contains the names of routes and the individual who first completed the route (Nettlefold and Stratford 1999). Therefore, there is the potential for rock and mountain climbers to begin the process of establishing an attachment for a specific place. Adventure accounts can also provide evidence that different places and experiences can alter peoples’ perceptions of place. This is exemplified by the motion picture, Touching the Void, which is an account of two mountaineers (Joe Simpson and Simon Yates) and their experience climbing on a Peruvian mountain named Siula Grande (Macdonald 2004). Touching the Void is based on a true account of Simpson and Yates’s expedition, in which Simpson falls and breaks his leg and their ordeal to save his life. Within the documentary section of the DVD, Joe stated that the region around the mountain (a place) was important to him; therefore, he was attached to the place, while Simon Yates stated that he was not attached to Siula Grande, to him it was just another nice place similar to the other areas and mountains he had climbed (Macdon-

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ald 2004). These two perceptions highlight how people can experience similar events in the same location and have a different attachment to the place. Similarly, Kyle et al found that hikers along the Appalachian Trail in the United States had different levels of attachment which varied along with “their demographic characteristics, motivations, preferences, and activity involvement” (2004b:79). They found that the High-Attached Users were attracted to the Trail from small to medium towns due to the Trail’s notoriety. This user group also had the largest commitment to the activity of hiking. Kyle et al also found that the Low-Attached Users were more likely to be females from small cities and were the users who had the smallest commitment to the activity of hiking. Expanding on the duration of the activity, in a study of day, overnight, section, and through hikers on the Appalachian Trail, Kyle, Graefe, Manning and Bacon (2003) found that place attachment increased with an increase in activity involvement. It is possible that due to the length of the Trail that many of the individuals sampled indicated they were adventure tourists. Morgan et al (2005) found that the duration and type of activity that adventure tourists were participating in had the potential to affect their experience. Therefore, it is possible to assume that place attachment can occur at places where the adventure tourists participate in a specific activity for an extended duration.

Conclusion Outdoor recreation has been identified as the umbrella term for adventure recreation and tourism. The focus on adventure recreation and tourism is an interaction with the natural environment that includes elements of risk and danger. As well, it lends to the wellbeing of the individuals involved. Within adventure tourism, people seek an experience that provides them with an element of (calculated) risk and/or danger while they interact within the natural environment. Many of the activities that are classified as adventure recreation are possible within the tourism industry; often it is the commercial sector that packages and creates adventure tourism opportunities for the tourist. A smaller proportion of adventurers are independent travelers, but consume similar products, such as bungee jumping, famous tracks, kayaks, and many more (Hall 1992). Examples drawn from the literature and the media have shown that adventure tourists, whether in independent or package groups, have the potential through their experiences within a specific place to become attached to that place. Although not all tourists experience place attachment, a substantial number highlight the importance of a specific place on their travels and activities. Comfort is part of this place attachment, which in turn contributes to the overall wellbeing. While at first sight adventure recreation and adventure tourism do not seem to be related to wellness, this chapter clearly showed that many of the crucial components of adventure recreation and tourism relate well to the spokes of Hettler’s wellness wheel of 1976. It is important to recognize that all elements of the wellness concept need to be given equal importance and balance in order to achieve wellbeing. Adventure tourism can actively contribute to all “spokes” of the wellness wheel, and thus to the wellness of the participant.

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Further research is needed to establish what place actually means to recreationists, and how some individuals become attached to a specific place and others do not (Bricker and Kerstetter 2000). Similarly, future research should look at place attachment within adventure tourism. It has been shown that some adventure tourists do become attached to a specific place. Researchers should question whether the place attachment occurs as an anomaly or if the perceptions, expectations, and experiences help to create place attachment for adventure tourists. Another area of research that has risen from the literature should investigate whether it is more plausible for independent adventure tourists to become attached to a specific place than tourists who participate within an organized tour. The perception of risk also lends for another needed area of research. As already noted, risk is an important component of adventure activities and the setting/place is a large component of this perception. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether the perception of risk affects the potential for place attachment. Finally, embedding adventure tourism in the concept of wellness and wellbeing needs to be further explored. Various components of the adventure tourism experience, such as place attachment, calculated risk taking, achievement and accomplishment, social interaction, have the capability to actively contribute not only to health, but also to wellbeing. As such, adventure tourism has the potential of becoming a powerful contributor to health and wellness.