For adventurous travel... not dangerous

In Vietnam, adventure tourism is gradually becoming a popular trend and has many opportunities for development. To exploit it effectively and safely, according to experts, adventure tourism needs many comprehensive solutions.

Visitors participate in the adventure of paragliding from a mountain in Phu Tho - Photo: TTD

After a tourist died from falling into the forest while paragliding on Son Tra Peninsula, Da Nang City, the safety of adventure tourism has once again been raised for all tourists, as well as increasing its appeal to tourists who love and seek unique experiences.

According to global research, adventure tourism is a booming segment because it is attractive and brings in large revenues.

Research & Markets' report estimates the global adventure tourism market size to reach $351 billion in 2024, up from more than $292 billion in 2023.

Not for the masses but growing day by day

Talking to Tuoi Tre , Mr. Nguyen Van Son, a tour guide for a travel company in Da Nang City, said that young people are interested in many adventure tourism activities, to satisfy the need to explore and experience new perspectives of the destination.

Among them, popular adventure tourism activities include walking, hiking, trekking, cycling, off-road driving, culinary, photography, running, mountain climbing, boat exploration, stand-up paddle boarding, survival training courses, adventure races...

Adventure tours are not cheap. Depending on the type, itinerary and duration, adventure tour prices range from 30,000 VND to 70 million VND/tour.

"This type of tourism is not for the masses but it is growing in popularity every day. In Da Nang City, there are many tours associated with adventure tourism that ensure standards, and the price is 3-4 times higher than other types of tourism," said Mr. Son.

According to Mr. Son, the price of adventure tours is much higher than other types of tourism because guests participating in these tours are accompanied by a "porter" (a person who carries luggage for tourists) to ensure safety.

There are also chefs, medical care providers for the group, and especially the tourist insurance premium is always at the highest level...

"Therefore, adventure tourism is not for the majority, only for groups of customers with many skills, good mentality and financial conditions," said Mr. Son.

According to Mr. Tu Quy Thanh - Director of Lien Bang Tourism Company, the most important thing for adventure tours is the issue of rescue, so the cost of training, route finding, and investment in surveying the tour itinerary is very large, so the price is high. This type of tourism is also very picky about customers, because it requires tourists to be healthy and have good survival knowledge. For example, when a group goes into the forest to climb a mountain, if they get lost, Vietnamese tourists often panic and turn back, but the more they turn back, the more lost they get.

We invite you to rate products, services, and destinations on the Experience and Review page of Tuoi Tre newspaper .

"Meanwhile, foreign tourists are calmer, stay where they are and look for cliffs to avoid wild animals, looking for the safest way, so adventure tourism is very attractive to international visitors," said Mr. Thanh.

He said that the boom of this type of tourism is due to the young people's tendency to choose unique tourism. The market is bustling, with many businesses doing professional adventure tourism, in addition to many companies that self-promote and call themselves adventure tourism companies.

According to our records, some localities such as Da Lat, Quang Binh... have allowed businesses to exploit and trade in adventure sports tourism. Licensed businesses include canyoning, rafting, kayaking, ziplining, climbing artificial cliffs, trekking through the forest...

There must be solutions to ensure safety for tourists.

Tourists explore Son Doong Cave (Quang Tri Province, formerly Quang Binh Province) - Photo: TCDL

Mr. Nguyen Chau A, founder and general director of Oxalis Group, assessed that adventure tourism is unique, and to have a safe experience requires compliance with safety principles, tour guide rights, tourist rights and responsibilities, and force majeure issues.

Adventure travel is risky. Therefore, both parties agree not to sue unless it is due to operational or company error.

"Therefore, to participate in adventure tourism, tourists should spend time researching and understanding the characteristics of each sport, safety requirements and possible risks to consider choosing a trip that is suitable for their knowledge, skills and experience," said Mr. A.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bui Thi Thoa, a lecturer at the tourism department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City, said that adventure tourism is a special segment in the tourism industry, combining elements of discovery, adventure and challenge with nature. In recent years, adventure tourism has developed strongly in the world and in Vietnam, creating an important trend in the tourism industry.

According to Ms. Thoa, Vietnam has diverse terrain with mountains, forests, seas, caves, and streams, suitable for adventure tourism, sports tourism, and resort tourism.

Many localities have begun to develop adventure tourism products, initially creating prominent tourism brands. However, the adventure tourism industry in Vietnam still has difficulties, which can reduce the safety and attractiveness of this type of tourism.

"For example, this tourism activity is spontaneous, uncontrolled, lacking a safety management system and professional tour guide training. Many companies do not have a complete risk assessment process, leading to cutting safety standards to maximize profits, posing risks to tourists," said Ms. Thoa.

To develop safe and sustainable adventure tourism, Ms. Thoa said that businesses need to have a risk management model, train tour guides in survival skills, first aid and tourist psychology; combine and cooperate with international organizations on safety training; invest in infrastructure and require travel insurance for tourists...

In addition, according to tourism expert Thuy Duong (Hanoi), to create attraction for adventure tourism, a "niche market" with personalized experience tours, in addition to focusing on the "corridor" to ensure tourist safety, businesses need to develop environmentally friendly adventure products, preserve the ecosystem and encourage tourists to participate in conservation, with a model of adventure tourism combined with ecology...

Mountain adventure tourism attracts international visitors

According to the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), adventure tourism includes elements such as physical activities, natural environments or cultural experiences. This type of tourism has a variety of levels from easy to difficult. After the COVID-19 pandemic, adventure tourism in Asia has recovered strongly, with the occupancy rate of adventure tours reaching 62%, close to the global level of 65%.

In addition, ATTA also recorded that 85% of adventure tour businesses have safety plans and 68% have achieved sustainability certification, showing that the industry is focusing on improving safety standards and protecting the environment. The majority of adventure travelers aim to explore new experiences, so ATTA predicts that the scale of global adventure tourism is expected to reach 740 billion USD by 2028.

Meanwhile, the World Tourism Organization also confirmed that mountain adventure tourism accounts for about 9 - 16% of international visitors. This type is in the top of adventure tourism.

Adventure travel is for the highly skilled only.

According to a YouTuber specializing in exploring travel experiences, today's youth are very interested in adventure travel, but this is a special type of tour that requires a lot of skills that not all tourists have...

"Adventure tourism is not a paragliding tour, a simple backpacking trip, but adventure tourism guests need many skills such as swimming, diving, mountain climbing, kayaking, hiking, ziplining...

Therefore, adventure travel is not for the majority, only for groups of customers with many skills, good mentality to overcome their own limits in addition to having financial conditions," said this YouTuber.

NEGOTIATION

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-du-lich-mao-hiem-khong-nguy-hiem-20250714224601383.htm