Adventure travel tours for 2023 are already booking up, more active tour trends

1. Active and adventure travel tours will book up quickly

Active travel company Backroads has already seen a 60% increase in bookings more than nine months out for 2023 departures and the company expects to see its highest customer numbers of its 44-year history in 2023. The story’s the same at many other tour companies.

2. Japan is poised for a big year

Lots of travelers were excited to get back to Europe in 2022. For 2023, Japan is expected to be a hot destination as it welcomes back visitors. “As Japan has opened back up, we’ve seen a flood of interest from people wanting to go and visit those super iconic places in Japan,” says Alexandria Sanchez, U.S. consumer marketing manager at G Adventures, which offers a variety of tours for exploring the Asian country.

3. Immersive experiences will continue to have strong appeal

A standard bus tour or high-end cruise doesn’t cut it for many travelers. “They really want to get into the country and experience all there is to offer,” says G Adventures’ Sanchez. “They want to try the food, they want to hear the language, they want to meet the people and see the faces behind the experience they’re having.”

4. Tour operators will keep working to help protect the places they visit

As part of its partnership with NatureMetrics and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, adventure tour operator Exodus Travels recently launched 20 Citizen Science Departures where travelers help collect environmental DNA samples for the eBioAtlas to monitor biodiversity around the world. The tours take participants to places like the Zambezi Valley and Vietnam, where they’ll help collect freshwater samples that provide clues about the species living in each ecosystem.

At Intrepid, protecting the planet is a major focus. The company has more than 40 low-carbon alternative tours where carbon-intensive activities have been swapped for more sustainable options like walking and cycling and short flights have been replaced by train travel or other lower-emission transportation. Intrepid Premium tours offer high-end adventure travel that also incorporates sustainability. The new 10-day Premium Alaska tour, for example, includes lower-emission train travel, wilderness and conservation tours and a stay at the sustainably built Talkeetna Lodge.

“The luxury tourism market is booming, as is the looming threat of climate change,” says Matt Berna, president of North America for Intrepid. “Creating a more sustainable, high-end travel product has been a key focus for Intrepid … (People are) willing to pay for premium trips that offer an exceptional experience at an excellent value, while also giving back to local communities and positively affecting the environment.”

5. Roughing it is an option, but it’s not required

Backpacking and camping can certainly be components of active trips and even family travel adventures. But if you want some physical activity during the day and a comfy bed at night, you can have that too. Escape Adventures leads a range of U.S. biking and hiking tours where travelers spend their nights in a tent. But on its new biking tour of Bentonville, Arkansas, private groups stay in a luxury vacation rental the company owns. “We offer both ends of the spectrum and a lot of stuff in the middle,” says company cofounder Jared Fisher.

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Travelers can also book active and adventure travel tours where they don’t have to be moving every minute of the day. Backroads’ Dolce Tempo tours slow things down a bit, offering easygoing biking, walking and multi-adventure trips to places like Switzerland, Napa Valley, Scotland and U.S. national parks like Yellowstone and Zion.

6. Wellness will be on the wish list

G Adventures has been seeing increasing interest in its wellness tours to locations like Bali, Costa Rica and Iceland. “People want to have a life-changing experience,” says Sanchez. “They want to learn more about themselves or are seeking well-being, active moment, yoga, or different things that promote mindfulness.”

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“Adventure travel, with a focus on nature and being your personal best, is a celebrational tool for embracing life’s shifts,” says Heverling from AdventureWomen, which offers tours for breast cancer survivors in conjunction with the iRise Above Foundation and tours of Japan that explore the country’s ancient traditions. “At AdventureWomen, it’s less about age or athleticism but about a mindset … A driving force of why women are booking is prioritizing ourselves with an emphasis on life experiences. The post-pandemic world reinforces how vital it is to live boldly.