Tourists are now visiting some of the most remote and amazing places on earth,
travelling to 'frontiers' on journeys that are psychological
and emotional as well as geographical. These extraordinary journeys to the
poles, the peaks of the highest mountains in the world, harsh deserts and even
outer space test both physical and mental endurance and can be characterized as
'unique' even in this day and age. The frontier
traveller's experiences often attract extensive media coverage and
form the basis of popular books and documentaries, conferring on the traveller a
form of 'prestige' as a result of the relative rarity and
difficulty of their experiences.
Little research to date has focused on 'prestige-worthy'
forms of travel, particularly with reference to individuals who venture to some
of the most inhospitable, remote and dangerous locations on the globe, despite
their importance to the study of tourism as 'destination
pioneers'. Motivations for undertaking frontier travel experiences
have also yet to be studied in depth from a tourism research perspective. This
paper discusses some of the preliminary findings from an exploratory study of
frontier travellers from the USA, UK and Australia, as part of an ongoing
research project. It compares and contrasts the potential motivation behind
frontier travel as well as making some speculative comments on the role culture
may play in this form of travel and considering the implications of the findings
for tourism marketing. Some of the key motivations behind frontier travel
experiences identified by this exploratory study are challenge/goal setting,
self-actualization, novelty and adventure, highlighting a message or cause or
educating others and influences and inspiration for this type of travel stemming
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