Exploring the attitude of youth towards adventure tourism as a driver for post-pandemic era tourism experiences

The return to normal conditions after the pandemic requires social readjustment through recreational activities in a controllable environment. Adventure tourism is one of the feasible options. This study develops a model that will allow young people to regain their internal balance by exploring cumulative positive experiences adapted to their needs. A set of indicators are used in the model to measure people’s attitudes towards tourist destinations. The factors that describe adventure tourism have been identified by Hofstede’s theory of the cultural dimension from interviews with people belonging to the millennial generation. Quantitative research was conducted among this generation from 12 counties of Romania. Following the modelling, they were identified as the main factors of the practice of AT: stress decreasing, self-awareness, search for new experiences and social interaction. The use of the model based on structural equations allows the identification of personalized tourist destinations to be used in the industry in order to revitalize tourism activity and rebalance the socio-economic perspective. Examining the interrelationship of factors contributes to a better understanding of the concept of adventure tourism and provides a relevant choice for post-pandemic tourism experiences.