As globalization continues to grow, the supply and demand of the adventure tourism industry has continued to grow with it, meaning greater intersectionality between adventure tourism activities and the impacts of culture. As a result of this trend, this study sought to answer the question “how does nationality influence perceptions of risk in adventure tourism activities”? While risk perception and adventure tourism research has been quite extensive, there is an existing gap in
the literature which remains to account for the impact of national culture in this relationship. This study analyzed participants from 30 different countries around the world in a mixed methods approach to the research question. This was delivered via surveys to 192 participants and 3 interviews conducted with participants of various nationalities at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. Eight adventure activities were used within the scope of the study including ice climbing, ocean surfing, and whitewater kayaking to determine risk perceptions of international and domestic participants. The results of this study indicate that experiencing risk is valued higher by international adventure tourists than domestic adventure tourists, drawing a link between culture and risk perceptions in adventure tourism. These findings help contribute to the growing literature surrounding culture and adventure tourism.
