Quality Tourism Experiences: Perspectives of adventure travel providers

Abstract

Quality tourism experiences are frequently referred to in tourism industry literature and discourses, albeit definitions are rarely provided. A study of adventure travel industry providers using an interpretive social sciences approach was conducted in 2007 during peak season at an East Coast Australian tourist destination in order to understand what constituted a quality adventure tourism experience. Empirical materials were collected using a qualitative methodology and purposive sampling. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews generated discourses which were interpreted using successive approximation within a grounded theory tradition. Core elements of quality tourism experiences for adventure travel providers included experience delivery, personal and social connectivity, inter-connectivity of entire tourism experiences as well as provision of combinations of experiences.