Exploring the Role of Technology in Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism has seen a recent surge in popularity, as people are increasingly looking for fear and thrills (Cater, Tour Manage 27:317–325, 2006) and unique and adrenaline-rushing experiences (Pomfret and Bramwell, Current Issues Tour 19:1447–1478, 2014). However, compared to several other specialized tourism studies, the research in this sector has been limited (Buckley, Tour Manage 33:961–970, 2012), while the role of technology in adventure tourism management is still in its infancy, although it is considered one of the most rapidly expanding sectors and a significant part of the tourism industry. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to theoretically discuss how the adventure tourism industry is implementing and managing technology, addressing the changes that technology has brought, and identifying the opportunities that can be exploited. In order to better understand the role of technology in adventure tourism management, we suggest the adoption of service-dominant logic and its ecosystem perspective (Vargo and Lusch, J Acad Market Sci 36:1–10, 2008). More specifically, we propose a transition of adventure tourism management from the perspective of S-D logic, reconsidering the conclusions that have been drawn from traditional perspectives (G-D logic). Importantly, a service-ecosystems view broadens the scope of adventure tourism management and enables researchers and practitioners to zoom out beyond dyadic exchange encounters and to view technology as a necessary resource for value co-creation. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first which challenges adventure management literature by adopting an S-D logic perspective.