Youth and adventure tourism is the biggest earning sector of Australia's international tourism market and yet has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. But as soon as flights return, young people will be some of the first to flood back into the tourism market, even willing to pay for a two-week hotel quarantine in order to spend some pent-up savings for a long working holiday.

Alex Hill is president of advocate organisation Adventure Tourism Victoria (ATV),  Melbourne operations manager for Tourism Adventure Group and general manager for United Backpackers.  Alex has worked in hospitality and tourism management roles all over Australia, the UK and Germany.

Quotes from  episode:

“It's called adventure travel for a reason… And I think if there is going to be a segment of the population that are willing to risk something, it's the adventure travel industry. And I think (that while) our segment is almost decimated at the moment, it can rebound very quickly given the opportunity.”

"Youth tourism is the number one earning or generating segment of the international market in Australia. 23% of visitor arrivals is international youth tourism and represents 45% of international tourism spend, which is the largest segment of international tourism in terms of revenue, Australia needs a thriving adventure tourism infrastructure for when the youth of the world come back to travel here and they will."

Don’t miss:
- How Alex turned his love for adventure tourism into a career
- The one adventure activity Alex will not repeat
- The impact of the pandemic on adventure tourists
- How some businesses in the sector pivoted to stay relevant
- How communities support each other in pandemic times
- Where government help falls short
- What if the pandemic goes on till 2025

Connect with Alex:
Website: www.atv.org.au
LinkedIn: Alex Hill
Facebook: Adventure Tourism Victoria

Connect with Adelaine:
Email: uponarrivalpodcast@gmail.com