Many of us dream of climbing Mount Everest or trying paragliding. But there are a selected few who go to any lengths and pay lump sum money to try out scaling a mountain, going cave diving in the deep waters or in the most recent case, witnessing the wreckage of the majestic Titanic under the Atlantic Ocean. The risks and the raw adrenaline rush make it all the more attractive for daring adventurers. The feeling of achievement at the end of the daunting sport is sometimes addictive and makes people try it out again and again.
The travel and tourism industry has developed a niche to accommodate the demands of these challenging sports that are also excessively expensive. It is termed extreme tourism. From oceans and mountains to sky, polar ice sheets and active volcanoes, people are ready to shell out a large chunk out of their fortune to chase a dangerous dream. It can be said that extreme tourism has become a thing for the excessively rich population because of an abundance of money, ego and the human urge to seek thrills from the most dangerous places.
Here are a few examples of extreme tourism:
The Titanic met with a fatal accident with an iceberg which led to its sinking in 1912 and caused the deaths of 1,500 people onboard. Ever since there has been a great interest revolving around the mystery of the “unsinkable ship”. Recently, a private American Company, OceanGate carried out an expedition to the wreckage of the cruise line in a submersible named Titan that met an unfortunate end and reportedly its 5 passengers on board dead.
The remotest place on earth Antarctica is the world’s coldest, highest and windiest continent. Recently, there has been a surge of daredevils arriving at the place via cruise ships and people have been undertaking activities like snowboarding, snorkelling, and paddleboarding among various other activities. One can view the breathtaking views of the glaciers, the pristine snow and the white landscapes.
The demand to witness lava and ash spewing seems to be attracting a lot of tourists. After many volcanic eruptions, reportedly, there has been a surge in enquiries by tourists who want to see the volcanoes up close.
One of the highest mountain peaks in the world is Mount Everest and every year tourists from around the globe take up the daunting challenge to scale the heights. To take up the challenge of mountaineering, tourists need to be physically and mentally fit which requires months of preparations. Hence, it makes for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Another developing area of extreme tourism is space tourism. It will make human space travel for leisure purposes more accessible. It will include orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. Reportedly, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have dabbled with Sub-orbital space tourism.
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