Adventure sports hotel concepts
EXTREME DESTINATIONS
Welcome to episode 069 of the Green Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss the themes of well-being and sustainability in real estate and hospitality today.
I'm your host Matt Morley and today we're talking to Marc Myers, Hospitality and Project Director of Extreme Destinations, a new entrant in the adventure tourism blending wellness, extreme sports and ecotourism for a new breed of traveller.
Marc is currently based in Norway and has an extensive professional background in sustainability and tourism.
He has worked in Durban, South Africa for Umhlanga tourism as well as his own sustainably farmed ingredients business.
He's managed safari lodges in Uganda, helped reintroduce heritage grains into the sustainable food economy in Norway and today is charged with the Extreme brand's mission to drive positive change through both extreme and adventure sports.
Hotel development, lodges & camps
His particular remit is the development of adventure sports parks, themed hotels, lodges, camps and centers of excellence. So before we jump in, a few key terms to help set the scene.
What is adventure tourism definition?
Adventure tourism refers to a type of tourism that includes physical activity (outdoors) that maybe considered challenging, thrilling, and sometimes more than a little risky!, at least for the un-experienced. As such, this type of tourism is aimed at individuals, young or old, seeking an adrenaline rush and looking for unique experiences.
Adventure tourism activities can range from hiking, rock climbing, zip line, mountain biking, skating, surfing, water skiing, snowboarding, skiing and bungee jumping to white-water rafting, scuba diving, skydiving, and paragliding.
What is wellness tourism definition?
Wellness tourism can be defined as a type of tourist activity that focuses on promoting the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing (or 'well being') of the traveler.
The concept of wellness in this context is based on the idea of achieving a state of balance and harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, ideally during and to some extent after the holiday in question.
Wellness tourism can include activities such as spa treatments, yoga retreats, meditation sessions, fitness programs, and healthy eating options.
What is ecotourism definition?
Within the overall domain of sustainable development, we can say that ecotourism is built upon respect for and integration with nature and the natural environment, prioritizing the protection of natural resources.
This type of sustainable travel might involve exploring natural areas such as national parks, wildlife reserves, climbing mountains, and forests. Ecotourists participate in activities such as bird watching, hiking, and wildlife safaris. They learn about the flora and fauna of the area and the importance of preserving them.
Culture is also an important aspect of ecotourism. It involves interacting with the local community, learning about their customs, traditions, and way of life. Ecotourism promotes cultural exchange and understanding between tourists and locals.
Sustainability is also at the heart of ecotourism. It involves ensuring that tourism activities are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. Ecotourism aims to benefit the local communities by providing employment opportunities and promoting their well-being.
Green Healthy Places episode 069
mattmorley
For those perhaps less familiar with the Extreme brand itself. Could you just give a quick overview to that business and the sectors you're all currently playing in, as well as the recent move into hospitality?
Extreme Sports TV - a period of rapid economic growth
01:31.28
Marc
Extreme as a brand has been around for over 25 years. It was started by Alistair Gosling and really centered around extreme sports and providing media outreach for that. So he raised some investment with international investors capital to develop the sports channel Extreme Sports which became a global phenomena.
It launched in a range of countries and developed a massive following and fan base over a range of TV networks. He ran that very successfully for many years then he saw the rise of social media and YouTube so decided to sell the channel and then move more into the social media element and publishing.
He developed a fan base around 20 million followers, at the same time he developed the events business which supports a lot of the larger extreme sports events; that has really driven the growth towards destination relationships as well. So from the event business, evolved the destinations business around six years ago
Destination management for adventure tourism activities
They started developing a lot of management plans for destinations with regards tourism sports and Adventure Infrastructure. So providing the capabilities for a variety of destinations to develop those kind of facilities.
Then supports the growth of sports adventure-based sports action sports and extreme sports as part of the overall tourism offering.
So really, he's growing the company into that direction and I'm now working with Extreme Destinations as we move away from just consultancy towards operations within the hospitality sector.
Hotel management company for adventure tourism hotels, camps and lodges
I think they've gone really into the design, build and operate model - the reason being is you know it's much better when you're providing the design element when you actually operate.
The destination team has actually developed their own kind of design brand and also their kind of their own offering with regards to the adventure tourism industry and the types of activities they provide.
Brand extensions in the hospitality industry
04:01.54
mattmorley
I can think of examples that I've been involved in in the past where let's say a luxury fashion brand decides to move into the hospitality space and there's a strategic piece of work that goes on at the front end around how you translate that brand concept across into a hospitality experience.
Extreme already have the know-how and the expertise and the kudos within the industry established around creating experiences for that it then becomes well.
How do you create a permanent space a home for those experiences and when we look around in the industry were there was there an existing competitor set?
New brands entering the adventure lifestyle hospitality sector
05:10.99
Marc
Red Bull is a great example of a brand moving straight into the extreme sport sector, developing a range of events and experiences, their kind of communication platform.
There is a plethora of brands now entering into the market from magazine providers like Sports Illustrated developing their own resorts in the US at the moment, North Face have touched and looked at these opportunities as well, Norwegian brand NORRONA moved into glamping..
The role of media in creating a new sustainable travel brand for thrill seekers
06:30.25
Marc
Our media traditionally is around action sports and adventures, we realized we can provide a lot more of the experience around that. Traditional hotel brands struggle to get their social media profiles up to our level. The media is an element of the product itself.
Developing improved relationships with our telephones, capturing content during your visit and then utilizing that content as part of your own story means guests become ambassadors for the brand, we tell stories of the chosen responsible travel destinations and enhance community building too.
Ultimately we want to drive positive change through extreme and adventure sports. Through our hospitality we can really underpin that and also provide some resources for our guests to be able to change their traditional concept of a holiday, perhaps learning something in that process as well.
Content creator hotels for the physically active
08:10.18
mattmorley
I think the idea of bringing some of that content creator aspect into a hotel experience is really very powerful. Narrative and storytelling that is both for the brand but also for the mini content creator, or guest.
So if the new hospitality concept is around adventure sports and extreme sports how does that impact the hotel facilities, accommodation options and so on?
Developing an extreme sports hotel concept
09:07.23
Marc
We look at the activities available first, so the location, landscape, people and the local economy and communities around us because we we really feel that the local people in these places really make a difference to the overall experience.
We put that at the center of our product development process and we call these community spaces, where we deliberately want to foster moments of interaction between guests, staff, guides and community members.
Wellness in extreme sports lifestyle hotels
11:20.95
mattmorley
How are you approaching hotel wellness within the new hospitality concept?
11:46.69
Marc
What's really happening in the tourism industry is we see that there's three really strong growth segments. Firstly, adventure tourism (A) is a massive growth segment and wellness tourism (W) is even faster growing at this point, then there is ecotourism (E) or sustainable travel. We call this AWE inspiring.
What we see with adventurous travelers who are activity led is they're not warming up. They're not preparing themselves from some of these activities.
Mindful activities
So the wellness element for us is about mindful activities, yes fitness but also education about nutrition, how to prepare for a long expedition, plus of course a gym or fitness center which is also part of the community spaces where they can perhaps learn new training or recovery techniques.
Mindfulness and mental wellbeing in adventure sports hospitality
13:18.66
Marc
We also have a library where you can switch off from social media platforms or your phones and have those reading room moments where you can be mindful and present.
Social media
There's a fantastic book out at the moment about that called Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, it's one of those books that really helps people understand that disconnecting from media is an important process too, so staying mindful about how you use media.
Ecotourism as a pathway to sustainable development
Then there is the ecotourism element trying to teach people about the destination, the communities around them and aspects of sustainability such as banning single use plastics within all our properties, food waste management.
Communal bonding around an activity
17:02.90
Marc
Taking people out of the traditional hotel, giving them a place where they can enjoy themselves and go wild with their chosen activity, that's a very strong bonding experience for any generation, whether 40-50 year olds, obviously the younger generations too but also corporate groups, school groups, and so on.
Social bonding over adventure tourism experiences
mattmorley
I think a shared interest in a specific sport and particularly adventure or extreme sports does create something of a tribe effect that surpasses age, you might be on a longboard rather than a shortboard but you're still getting your kicks from catching the same wave.
What about the design aspect of these new adventure lifestyle hotels, camps and lodges? How do meet the needs of these different tribes?
Sustainable hotel interior design
18:31.11
Marc
Yeah I mean that's a good question and and it's something we're looking at on a destination by destination basis because I don't think there's one size fits all when it comes to hotel design.
We know it will be sustainable interior design in our hotels, looking at the sourcing of local fabrics, the whole supply chain in relation to that is very important.
It's also identifying local producers and I think that story is very relevant today, including the artists and artisans that produce for example our locally made crockery and cutlery.
Branding with sustainable interior design
This helps create an identity for the places and locations we're we're operating in. Sustainability is really at the core of everything we're doing as a business and across everything we do and and through Extreme Hangout we're meeting artists and activists who are giving us even more ideas.
The furniture and fittings will be sourced locally as much as possible and then we create some brand signatures too.
Brand partnerships
20:06.36
We also look for brand alignment. So finding local brands or brands that can support the product itself and and create alignment with what we're trying to achieve. A great example would be Patagonia and the supply chain that they have.
Local communities
21:18.70
Marc
These hotels, camps and lodges can become very important to local communities, so embracing that by purchasing through local supply chains. So much is achievable on the furniture, equipment and food supply in particular.
Especially for mobile camps, the most important thing is stopping at the local market, meeting some of the local farmers and talking about the supply chain, then taking some of that product and then preparing it together in an open environment.
Green hotel certification
22:32.37
mattmorley
On that basis, what's your stance on green hotel certification? From my perspective, hotel sustainability certification programs such as Green Key, EarthCheck and Green Globe provide rigor to the process, do you agree?
The hotel sustainability question
22:58.34
Marc
I think the reality as a small or medium-size hotel operator is that most of them don't have the knowledge or the capacity to implement sustainability solutions.
So they don't know what the regulations are, they wouldn't know how to improve efficiency with regards to energy management or building management systems, or waste management procedures.
Towards Net Zero in hospitality
As we move into the world of GHG protocols and reporting, it becomes quite complex for a property owner or hotel company, so these certification schemes do provide a resource for simple management, regular updates and so on.
It's also up to the property owners to be able to take their properties to the next level and as we go towards Net Zero all of the green hotel standards policies are going to be underlined in our overall operations.
Corporate retreats around extreme sports
25:26.44
mattmorley
You mentioned corporate retreats, perhaps not the first target market I'd have thought of for Extreme but perhaps it does make sense... especially if there's a sustainability angle too. So what's the objective there, is it about educational experiences for business employees to bond over? Paint us a picture.
That's obviously a slightly different market but again showing that you don't need to be pinned into one particular corner of the adventure tourism industry. You can effectively float around it leveraging the Extreme brand name.
Corporate retreats in adventure tourism hospitality concepts
26:14.35
Marc
Yeah, look I think for corporate retreats it's a lot about the team building and a sense of bonding together that's developed in these types of locations and then obviously if you've got experiences right at the center of it all, also action sports and adventure sports, the team building element is a great focus point.
Education not just experiences
At the same time, there is an educational element with regards sustainability best practices, another focus point for us and I think transitioning away from most corporate environments these days that are the traditional office-based environment.
Remote workers especially are looking for ways to reconnect with themselves, with their colleagues and break down that model of the management structures.