ABSTRACT
If our lives are dominated by a search for well-being then perhaps few activities reveal as much about this quest as our travels (De Botton, 2003). This chapter deals with the following question: What psychological value do tourists get out of adventure holiday experiences? This is a complex question which few psychologists or tourism experts can answer with conviction. For the purposes of this chapter, the term psychological value refers to an individual sense of well-being or happiness – two terms that can be used interchangeably (Seligman, 2002). Clearly, the core difficulty in answering the question is in defining well-being (Seligman, 2011). Another difficulty in answering the question is that adventure tourist experiences are very diverse (Pomfret, 2006; Weber, 2001). Weber (2001) highlights this heterogeneity noting that they include pursuits involving risk and uncertainty (such as kayaking, hang-gliding or rock climbing) and more passive tourist pursuits (such as individual overland travel). Pomfret (2006) similarly highlights this diversity and differentiates adventure tourist experiences into land-based (e.g. mountain biking), water-based (e.g. scuba diving), air based (e.g. parachuting) and mixed (e.g. gap year travel). So each experience is different and would have different psychological impacts on individuals.
