Adventure tours have taken travelers to the ends of the Earth, the bottom of the sea, and even space. Despite the risks and costs that can often exceed $100,000 per ticket, the business is booming, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This week, the Titan submarine with five people on board went missing while diving to take tourists to the deep-sea wreck of the Titanic. Search and rescue teams are racing against time to find the tourist submarine.
Along with well-known services such as flying into space or climbing Mount Everest, exploring the Titanic wreck is also chosen by the world's super-rich to bring unforgettable experiences in places few people set foot, according to Yahoo News .
According to luxury travel consultants, such trips have become more accessible to people in recent years, as technology has improved and the world has become "flatter".
Accept the risk
Many companies like Blue Origin offer commercial flights to space, while tour operators like White Desert offer private jet services to Antarctica.
The costs of those trips vary dramatically. Some passengers on Blue Origin flights have paid millions of dollars, while a trip to Antarctica costs nearly $100,000 .
OceanGate Expeditions sells eight-day Titanic wreck exploration trips for $250,000 per person.
The Titan, while diving to the wreck of the Titanic, went missing on the morning of June 18. Photo: OceanGate.
However, many travelers continue to prioritize such once-in-a-lifetime vacations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, even if they face a certain level of physical danger, tour operators say.
“They want to do what they want to do, whether it’s diving in Antarctica because they can dive in every other ocean, or trekking with silverback gorillas in Rwanda,” says Ralph Iantosca, a luxury travel advisor and owner of The Expeditionist, a Dallas-based travel company.
Wealthy explorers have long traveled to remote parts of the world. They often endured harsh and dangerous conditions for weeks or months,
James Willcox, founder of UK-based Untamed Borders, says 20 years ago, travellers could rely on guidebooks or plot their own routes.
Many companies now offer support services for tourists’ trips, he said. His company began running ski tours to Afghanistan a decade ago.
Tourism segment is growing strongly.
The luxury adventure travel market is small but growing rapidly, says Samantha Collum, CEO of River Oaks Travel Concierge in Houston.
Tourists can now fly by private plane from Cape Town, South Africa, to Antarctica, where they can stay in a luxury campsite with a “Star Wars” feel, Mr. Collum said.
Meanwhile, Iantosca said he organized a trip from Cape Town to Antarctica and then South America. Guides took tourists on scuba diving trips, as well as ice climbing and hiking. That trip cost more than $250,000 , he said.
Besides, according to Mr. Collum, being one of the rare tourists to complete such expeditions has contributed to the attractiveness of this type of tourism.
Travel advisers say they work with local operators to ensure clients are physically prepared for the trips, but the dangers are unavoidable.
A Malaysian man was rescued from the "death zone" while conquering Mount Everest. Photo: Reuters.
Global Rescue provides medical, safety, evacuation and travel risk management services around the world. The company’s CEO, Dan Richards, said the two fastest-growing segments of the company’s consumer business are adventure travel and luxury travel.
“There is no doubt they are taking greater risks than they have in the past,” he said.
Global Rescue has seen travelers encounter more insect-borne illnesses they wouldn't have back home, as well as broken bones from motorbike riding in places like Patagonia.
Richards also points to Everest expeditions as an example of how adventure travel has become more accessible. The Nepalese government issued a record number of permits to summit Everest in the most recent season.
Global Rescue expects a record number of rescues in the Himalayas this season, as tourists embark on treks they are not yet qualified or prepared for, Richards said. Rescues have become more common as the region becomes more accessible, he said.
Not only that, tourists are also pursuing adventure trips on a smaller scale.
The promise of new thrills has attracted some travelers, even those who are not adventurous. Mike Reiss went on an expedition aboard Titan in July 2022.
The 63-year-old writer said he did not like to travel, but his wife did, which is why he went with her. He said the warnings on the Titan were clear and he knew he was potentially facing death by taking the trip.
Despite that risk, he said the passengers on the Titan, including himself, were not thrill seekers.
“They are not hang gliding or skydiving. They are adventurers and they are tourists who just want to explore. That is true for me too,” he said.
“I wouldn't jump out of a plane but I would go to Iran to see what it's like, or go to Iraq or visit the Titanic,” the writer added.
zingnews.vn
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