Although definitions of adventure tourism are wide-ranging, the driving forces behind its development in Central and Eastern Europe include:

• concerns about responsible tourism (many adventure sports such as kayaking have a low impact on the natural environment)
• the drive for sustained growth in tourism activity at local and national levels
• in the case of winter sports a desire to prolong the seasonality of tourism
• changing work and leisure patterns with tourists taking shorter and more frequent breaks, with people turning to short-haul breaks or exploring their own countries
• the rapid expansion in the number of low-cost airlines operating in Europe
• the widespread use of the Internet, which allow tourists to book online or communicate directly with the service provider
• a move away from the traditional packaged holiday
• a desire from holidaymakers for more unusual holidays or more diversification within a trip.

Case studies throughout this report place adventure tourism within the wider framework of general tourism, using industry insight provided by experienced professionals (both local and international operators) to look at the current situation and analyse the future prospects of this niche market eight profiled countries.

This report also considers more general issues when thinking about the development of adventure tourism in Central and Eastern Europe such as safety, getting into the market, corporate business, operator choice, choosing an activity and the duration of trips. It also looks at tour operators and the type of adventure tourism programmes on offer in the region before considering the future prospects of this niche segment of the tourism market in the region.

Combining the latest tourism data from the most authoritative sources and Mintel’s own unique, independent analysis, this report provides a level of market-explanation that can help create focused marketing and shape effective tourism policy at the highest level.