Sherman's Travel

On a recent trip to Mexico, I caught myself doing something I once swore I’d never do: rolling my eyes at fellow tourists. While touring Maya ruins, I scoffed (sometimes silently, other times out loud) at others’ overstuffed fanny packs and glacial pace up the steep steps of a towering stone structure. I then scolded myself for criticizing people who were essentially doing the same thing I was doing — just in a different way.

No doubt, adventure travel — a category of the industry that generally encompasses experiential, cultural and outdoors-focused travel — has exploded in recent years (according to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, it’s an $89 billion market). Unfortunately, with that increase in popularity has come an increase in attitude as well, from criticism of mainstream, group-centric tours to that ever-annoying “tourist or traveler?” debate to, ahem, not-so-discreet eye-rolling at others. So, here’s a tongue-in-cheek quiz to see where you fall on the spectrum. Wherever it is, let’s all vow to do our best to bring the Golden Rule on the road: That is, to travel and let travel.

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Lisa Ling, Rick Steves, and Adam Richman are just a few of the globe-trotting celebs who will be appearing at this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Travel Show, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It’s the 14th year for the award-winning travel extravaganza, which, with its hundreds of exhibitors from exotic countries and hands-on activities, is almost like a whirlwind round-the-world trip in and of itself.

The show, which costs $10 per day and is open to the public on January 28 and January 29, promises to once again spark wanderlust while providing access to some of the top travel experts in the industry. Countries represented include the adventure meccas of Belize, South Africa, Ecuador, and Morocco, and other exhibitors include a variety of tour operators and travel organizations, including the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Serengeti Pride Safaris, and Extreme Tornado Tours. Read more

While it might seem that the most prevalent adventure travel trend nowadays is wrestling your backpack into increasingly rare overhead bin space, there are plenty more appealing developments on the horizon. Here, a few trends of note for adventure travelers in 2011 and beyond.

Authentic experiences. “Experiential” travel is the buzzword that tour operators and outfitters are currently using to describe what true adventurers have been doing for decades: experiencing a destination like a local. The bad news about this trend: There are unprecedented numbers of travelers doing it (upping the chances that you’ll meet a fellow countryman, say, on a remote outback trail, which tends to be a bit disappointing when you’re after something truly unique). The good news: Operators and outfitters are developing trips based on authentic experiences, whether that means trekking with tribal nomads in the Sahara or learning to cook spaghetti Bolognese with a local chef in Bologna.

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