ADVENTURE TRAVEL SPECIALIST

Some adventure travel specialists lead challenging trips to exciting locations. Other adventure travel specialists plan the trips. Some do both the planning and the leading. Usually, though, even the specialists who only do the planning go on the trips so they can learn about the places that their customers will be visiting and the activities in which they will be participating.

The challenges adventure travel specialists face when on a trip are both physical and mental. They need to have a lot of energy to be able to work hard all day long. They also need to be good, quick thinkers. Adventure travel specialists need to be able to solve many types of problems. They have to stay calm when dealing with emergencies. They need to assess situations to make sure conditions are safe for everyone in the group.

Another important part of the job is working with people. Adventure travel specialists are with their group all day long for several days, or sometimes up to a few weeks, so they need to be comfortable in front of a group. While on the trip they act as a coach and a cheerleader, helping people to face difficult challenges. Adventure travel specialists also need to be good at working on a team and at helping to build teamwork skills in the people they are leading on the trip.

Adventure travel specialists lead people on great adventures, and they just might teach them something along the way. An ocean kayak guide might teach kayaking skills while he or she points out sea life along the way. Adventure travel is sometimes called ecotourism. One of the goals of some adventure travel trips is to teach people to appreciate our environment and the plants and animals that live in it.