Ranking: best countries for adventure travel

Ranking: best countries for adventure travel

The best countries for adventure travel have been evaluated by a jury of experts. We review the results below

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has named Iceland the best country for adventure travel for the third year in a row. The small Nordic island nation, famous for its geysers, volcanoes, geothermal lagoons and cinematic landscapes, remains an attractive destination for adventure seekers, especially those who care about sustainability.

Switzerland, with its long history of alpine tourism, came in second place, while New Zealand, one of the world's best hiking countries, took third place. Germany, Canada and Australia performed as well as the other Nordic countries.

Founded in 1990, ATTA is the largest global network of leading adventure travelers. With the help of its 30,000-strong community of people involved in adventure tourism, ATTA produces the Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI), a global ranking of adventure travel around the globe.

Oliver Förstner/ShutterstockTourists completing a via ferrata in Switzerland

The ATDI uses a panel of 360 industry experts as well as data such as gross domestic product (GDP), population density, protected areas, the Environmental Performance Index, the World Resources Institute and Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice.

Experts must have more than five years of experience in the adventure travel industry to be considered for the panel. On average, those selected have 15 years of experience in tourism and 12 years of experience in adventure travel.

The ATDI rates countries in 10 categories, which fall into three pillars:

SAFETY & WELCOME

• Politik der nachhaltigen Entwicklung
• Sicherheit
• Die Gesundheit
• Natürliche Ressourcen

ADVENTURE

• Ressourcen für Abenteueraktivitäten
• Unternehmerschaft

READINESS

• Humanitär
• Tourismusinfrastruktur
• Kulturelle Ressourcen
• Bild

The 10 Best Countries for Adventure Travel

Key insights

As the world faces unprecedented challenges in the form of climate change and a global pandemic, the report also highlights the need for the world's leading adventure travel destinations to rebuild more sustainably.

Iceland, which tops the rankings of the best countries for adventure travel, performs particularly well in the Adventure Activity Resources category. Switzerland ranked second overall, the highest in the Sustainable Development category, and performed consistently well in most other categories.

In general, countries around the world are increasing the number of protected marine and terrestrial areas, which in turn protect the habitats of many endangered species.

Jakub Barzycki/ShutterstockIsland states are adapting more quickly to climate change

Island states generally performed well in sustainable development policy categories. Barbados and Seychelles are leaders in implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and have therefore achieved positive results in their Environmental Performance Index scores.

Overall, the worst performing countries tend to be developing countries and are often in a post-conflict or conflict situation, such as Sudan and Somalia. While tourism is not a priority for these countries, it is worth noting that many popular adventure tourism destinations, such as Rwanda, Croatia, and Slovenia, have had relatively recent civil wars and have used adventure tourism as a vehicle for economic development, job creation, and post-conflict reconstruction.

“The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the urgent need for a sustainable leadership approach – one that focuses on resilience, ingenuity and efficiency.”

– Index for the development of adventure tourism

The UK slipped out of the top 10 due to a weak score in the Natural Resources and Adventure Activity Resources categories. The country was recently named one of the world's most nature-degraded countries, with one in seven native species at risk of extinction and more than 40% at risk of decline.

The U.S. fell three places due to lower scores in the Natural Resources and Cultural Resources categories. This is likely due to protected areas recently being downgraded or reduced in size during the Trump administration (although some are beginning to be restored). Additionally, Everglades National Park in the United States remains on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Complete rankings

The ranking of the best countries for adventure travel is based on the ATDI, which was created by the ATTA in collaboration with the International Institute of Tourism Studies at George Washington University.

The index does not record visitor numbers and is not a ranking for tourist volumes.

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Lead image: Zhukova Valentyna/Shutterstock

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