Abstract
Adventure tourists are as diverse as the unique, challenging, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat experiences offered. Adventure tourism activities, whether indoors or in natural environments, demand varying levels of physical exertion and risk, providing diverse cognitive and sensory stimuli. Many products and services in adventure tourism require specialized transport or equipment that are not universally accessible, creating barriers for people with disabilities. Identifying and understanding the barriers, motivations and opportunities, from an operator's perspective, is key to normalizing accessible adventure tourism. In-depth interviews with adventure tourism owners/managers revealed that financial gain was not a primary motivator. Instead, operators were driven by altruism, a strong commitment to inclusivity and a desire to share unique experiences with everyone. Findings highlight the interconnected challenges and opportunities, the balance between perceived and inherent risks and the lack of awareness regarding the diversity of disabilities that shape participatory choices. This chapter offers unique insights for driving discourse to align the desire operators possess to make a difference with relevant funding, directed education and training for staff and guests, and system-wide collaboration to deliver tourism for all.