Adventure Tourism Marketing: A Research on the Tourists’ Behaviours Regarding to Adventure Tourism in Azerbaijan

Abstract

Marketers in tourism industry have to be careful in modern competitive market while satisfying needs and want of the clients having great expectations, higher education, requiring high quality service. Hence, the companies offering different and alternative tourism services will develop the country’s tourism industry. Azerbaijan has very good opportunities for tourism services, activates and adventures as the country owns well-constructed tourism infrastructure, beautiful natural environment and hospitality values. Azerbaijan will get benefit by using these opportunities. Types of tourism will be differentiated, service supply will be developed, and alternative tourism fields will be enhanced for economic and social development of different regions of Azerbaijan.

Adventure tourism is a niche market. Azerbaijan’s natural environment, cultural diversification allow country to develop tourism’s potential capacity. The rise in interest towards activity- based tourism has allowed many players to enter what is now a highly specialized and profitable market characterized by enormous variety of products such as hunting, bird watching trips, cycling trips, canoeing, hitchhiking, trekking etc.

This study inquired the definitions and marketing requirements of adventure tourism and also examined how it is perceived by the tourists taking part in. Besides, this study investigated the effect of demographic, socioeconomic and trip related characteristics of tourists on the adventure trip types. For this purpose, the data used in this study was collected from incoming tourists to Azerbaijan. The results of this study highlight various implications for the future researches in adventure tourism marketing.

Keywords: Adventure tourism, adventure activities, adventure tourism market segmentation criteries, adventure tourist, tourist product and services

JEL Classification: M31, Z32