Max Adventure Recreation Service - Case Study Example

Executive Summary Background The report identifies and describes Max adventure recreation service and critiques its approach to marketing and risk management. It throws light on the background of the Max’s services. It also discusses the marketing approaches of the organization. A short description of risk management involves in Max’s recreation activities has been given in the report. There are literature reviews along with methodology and some recommendations. Main purpose of the paper The main purpose of the report is to bring forth some important points that makes Max a well-structured adventure recreational service organization. Some of the common and best marketing practices and risk management criteria of the organization have been discussed. The report stresses the importance of information regarding the marketing of Max adventure recreation activity. Sources of information After thorough study of sources like Outdoor recreational Industry Council, Australia (ORIC), Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA), Ewert and Hall the report has been finalized. Besides, there are other sources of information that help to make this report authentic. Main findings The main finding of the report is the basic definition of adventure recreational services and its approach towards marketing and risk management. The report also based on the trends and changes that boosted the industry a couple of years ago. Conclusion and Recommendations The report concludes with the growing importance of adventure recreation service industry and how the adventure recreation activities gaining popularity despite high-level of risk. The paper recommends that Max needs some additional thought and development to improved its current situation. It also recommend that marketing approach of Max need a highly activity-oriented segment emphasizing sophisticated levels of experience and expertise. Produce a report that identifies and describes an adventure or recreation service and critiques its approach to marketing and risk management 1. Introduction Adventure recreation services programs and facilities significantly enhance the quality of life. Offerings under recreation services have changed and expanded as the time swiftly passes on. The fast changing work culture and tough competition to go ahead makes life full of stress and anxiety. Adventure recreation services provide some solace to this community by giving them the platform to ease the pain and exertion of globalize economy. The main advantage of this service is to develop healthy communities. Max adventure recreation service is an organization that plays a role of a facilitator that has been changing and move from a major emphasis on direct programming to the community. Max evaluated the traditional recreation programs and services as per the need of the hour. Now the organization have specialized programs and services targeting different community groups. Max adventure recreation service offers variety of entertainment programs such as live theater, concerts, professional sports, amusement parks, wildlife adventure and the like. The recreation industry has faced occasional slumps but now it is on the track of slow and consistent growth. The period of 1997 to 2000 has rightly called the good time for the industry all over the world as many large entertainment projects were built, Islands of Adventure, Disney's California Adventure, and Tokyo DisneySea, to name a few. It is this period when the industry really expanded and created many jobs. (ORIC, 2006) The current state of recreation services industry in Australia is highly driven by intellectual properties and brand names. Since the industry based on consumers’ disposal incomes it stands to gain from economic recovery. Today established entrepreneurs and corporate houses are investing greatly in the recreation industry because the sector has a great potential as the demand for their services increasing. Most of the organizations in America offer variety of adventure recreation services with great authenticity, sincerity, good faith and genuineness. (Hall, 1992) Organizations like Max devoted to helping their travelers experience the world with honesty and affirmation. It has developed the kind of inter-cultural, interpersonal and environmental bonds that enhance rather than exploit the people and places where the clients travel. Max guarantees qualitative superiors experience to their clients with its new approaches to adventure recreation services. 2. Literature review People who want to experience a vacation rather than spend their vacation sitting in an air-conditioned coach have popularized adventure travel. There are variety of adventure recreation activities such as rock climbing, mountaineering, remote-area trekking, bungee jumping and so on. These kinds of adventure recreation activities are very much different from the traditional outdoor recreation because it has the deliberate pursuit of risk and uncertainty of outcome often referred to as adventure. (Ewert, 1989) Iso-Ahola (1980) initially define the outdoor recreation as 'an attempt to achieve something' and 'an attempt to avoid something.' Ewert (1989) added risk–taking dimension to it. He argued that the concept of risk-taking is necessary to adventure recreation activities. He states that the absence of risk may result in a decrease satisfaction as well as a decrease in the desire to participate. As per Priest (1992) five concepts of competence related to the adventure experience are present namely, fear, eustress, distress, abilities, and attitudes. It is fact that an adventure experience is associated with a psychological state and physical activities while facing the challenges and risks of a specific environmental setting. This interrelate the environmental setting with the experience of engaging in a particular activity. (Hall & Weiler, 1992) In adventure recreation activities an individual faces increasing level of risk or personal threats. The growth of journals, magazines, and periodicals boost the popularity of adventure recreation activities that opens up the door of thousands of unusual travel opportunities worldwide. (Hall, 1992) These adventures activities often take place in wilderness and that needs detail market analysis with risk management. To cater the competitive market of tourism Max adventure recreation service should meet the needs of the new consumers who are more demanding and discriminating, as well as more active and more purposeful in their choice of adventure services. Marketing is truly regarded as a major factor separating the successful from the unsuccessful business. Adventure recreation market is growing each day and so the competition. Therefore surviving in this industry need extraordinary marketing goals and objectives. The main purpose of the tourist is to acquire an experience and the organization should deliver the best of it by researching market. Market research helps organization accessing all the useful information regarding the adventure recreation activities. (Arnould & Price, 1993) Creating new customer is known as efficient marketing and for this every organization has to consider the 4 principles of marketing. According to Jerome McCarthy the four principles are product, place, price and promotion. Max’s approach towards marketing is very under these principles the organization work hard to advertise its product’s features as per the location or place to reach its target customers in time through proper distributing channels. Pricing the product or services is a crucial thing in marketing as the right price meet its own demand. There should be price flexibility with discounts, allowances as per geographic terms. And after that promoting the product or service to the targeted customer through various means like advertising, mass selling, media selection and so on. (McCarthy,1998) These basic principles of marketing help Max to expand its recreation business on a positive note because these principles characterize the market, the customer, and the environment in which the organization is working. It is difficult to assess the actual size of recreation market but it is clear that the market of recreation services growing rapidly. Max’s services need to be reshaped in response to both external, (i.e. business and industry), and internal, (i.e. consumer behavior) marketing strategies. The current adventure market trend moves toward diversity in travel demands and travel-related products that requires Max to identify detailed, specific characteristic of travelers and their travel behavior so that it would help the organization to pinpoint their target market. In linking different marketing factors to strategy formulation, Max needs a conceptual development in adventure travel. For this a comprehensive profile of the consumers is essential to effectively divide the adventure consumers into distinct subgroups. (Schuett,1993) The marketing strategies of Max adventure recreation services revolve around three components namely, i) addressing the different images held by potential consumers, ii) developing equipment and training packages suitable for specific groups and iii) emphasizing service and opportunities. The use of adventure recreation images only evoke these archetypal themes is common in the marketing of different services and products. (Arnould, Price, 1993, pp. 24-25) Max’s approach towards market of adventure recreation services should contain programs that meet specific interest areas or needs in the community with an emphasis of providing a quality experience. Good opportunities boost the market that can accept certain levels of pricing. Demographics play a major role in influencing the adventure market. Max should observe these objectives to enhance its market of recreation services. It should increase non-resident visitation and expenditures, increase travel in the seasons like early summers and early fall, and increase domestic resident travel and expenditures. (Priest , 1992) The basic strategies should be in accordance with the terms of the organization. It should focus resources on Max’s market and products with greatest return on investment, position the province as the 'destination choice', and integrate marketing activities with a consistent look and message. Max’s marketing program in advance boosted visitation through consumer advertising, media relation and travel trade initiatives. There is of course niche market that demand: meeting, conventions and incentive travel, hunting and fishing, outdoor adventure and winter. Without promoting and articulating the benefits of leisure, the tremendous value of adventure recreation adds to human welfare will never be recognized and appreciated fully outside the leisure profession. (Iso-Ahola, 1990) This need the techniques design to educate, and influence the public regarding available opportunities in the adventure recreation services. This is what we called social marketing which influences the acceptability of social ideas through product planning, pricing, communication, distribution, and marketing research. (Priest, 1992) In other words social marketing has been rightly called the application of commercial marketing technologies designed to analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society" (Hall & Weiler, 1992) Max is working hard to get more information on the current trends in adventure recreation service industry so that the organization can give satisfaction to the customers. It organizes road shows, summer camps to advertise its services and also offer package services in concession. (OCA, 2006) Adventure recreation activities are full of risk and so Max always devoted much time to in risk management. According to Schuett (1993) the skill level, psychological outcomes, gender, frequency of participation and perceived risk had predicted the level of enduring involvement. In high-risk recreation activities the level of sensation seeking and gender always remain high. On the other hand gender accounted for significant viability among participants and non-participants. It is clear that adventure recreational activities involve high risk and to manage the risk the organization has to anticipate problems in advance and eliminate any procedures that may allow something to go wrong. And all these can be done through periodic reviews of operations, having a constant eye towards safety and making sure that the best possible insurance coverage is in place at all times. (Schrader & Wann, 1999) Different regions in a country lure its visitors at every corner. The adventure market in Australia truly enriches visitors with beautiful landscapes, tropical rainforests, abundant wildlife, remote coasts and mysterious civilizations. This is the reason why the adventure traveling is so popular in America and has attracted travelers from all walk of life and age. In Australia many places are dependent on adventure or outdoor recreation travel from outside. Adventure and outdoor recreation has generated billions of dollars to the country's economy and supported millions of jobs in the country. (ORIC, 2006) It is found that a large number of people love to visit remote rural or wilderness areas not only to observe nature and culture but to engage in a variety of extreme sports, local impacts and expectations of adventure creation services. (Buckley, 2004) Max has the risk management procedures with potential safety risks, which seeks to strike a socially acceptable balance between the risk of loss and the risk of gain for the adventure recreation services provided to the customers. But these safety risk needs to be improved according the time and so the quality of programs. The recent trend is to take bold professional approach, independent thinking and creative action to organize authentic adventure programs. (Schrader & Wann, 1999) It is clear that risk-taking in its many forms is chief feature of any adventure recreation activities. To avoid the accidents Max has to manage the risks involved with the activities. And for this clear understanding of the nature of adventurous activities in terms of the benefits and risks to clients is a must. Max adventure recreation service is using different strategies to promote different recreation services. But there are some common features that the organization follows to promote all services. The first is the commercialization of expeditions of packaged adventure services. Secondly Max increases the incorporation of outdoor sports in such commercial expeditions ranging form base-jumping to surfing the remote reefs. These products have high environmental impacts without any attempt to environmental education or contributing to conservation. (Buckley, 2004) The organization should increase the number of visitors by increasing its marketing activities. Customer satisfaction should be enhanced through various means. There should be an effort to increase the size of Max’s market share through price regulations, package services and the like. 3. Method Since the purpose of this report is to throw light on Max’s adventure recreation service and its marketing approach the method used there is analytical. Through various researches of books, journals and essays the work on a comprehensive report on Max’s adventure recreation services has been achieved. Marketing strategies and practices keep changing in accordance with the trends so whatever strategies have been given for Max in this report may not be useful after some months. The above mention marketing objectives and goal are universal and can be applied to any organization but the strategies should be as per the market of different organization. There are different case studies that have provided great help to write this report. But again there is a point that in country like USA adventure recreation service providers like Max are working in tough competition and so they employed distinct approach to achieve their set targets. Max and other organization are selling services full with risk of life and body. Therefore, the approach of these organizations is honest and clear so that they allure the consumer easily to try something challenging. As the competition become strict in every field people are now open to take risk just to experience the ultimate that they never had before. This makes Max to provide such recreation services that guarantees extraordinary experience which contain high risk. The structural limitations of report included the limited amount of literature directly associated with adventure recreational services and of course the timeframe. (Ewert & Hollenhorst, 1989) 4. Results The above mention points and are found to be highly important as far as the adventure recreation services are concern. The definitions of adventure recreation activities rightly describe the concept of outdoor adventure. And now it has become a different genre of business that will boost in coming days. The report clearly established a fact that Max adventure recreation service is based on truth, honesty and whole lot of nerve wrecking excitement that gives a unique experience to the visitors. It is found from the above discussion that most of the recreation organizations like Max in USA bank on the adventure market and they are working hard to explore the local and uncommon things to make them available to the enthusiastic people. Max hunts proper places for particular kind of adventure activities. People taking the adventure recreation services want to ease their hustle bustle life and to experience the inexperienced thing so that they can cherish it for their life. Max has developed good risk management but sometime the organization failed to cover the amount of risk any particular activity contain. This happens when the organization works in haste and misinforms the visitor about the level of risk of a particular adventure activity. As it has been said that the marketing practices are identical with one another due to stiff race to get more business. Max has a national certificate because it is legitimate for an organization in the field of adventure recreation services. This provides Max the authentic power to provide adventure recreation services. Besides, Max also provide proper education about environment and create awareness among local communities to reduce adverse impacts and increase support for such adventure recreational activities. Better information should exist at all levels of adventure recreation service industry to encourage the consumers to be more discriminating. There should be brochures, tour guides, points of contact, and so on to create more considerate and responsive clients. 5. Conclusion The growing importance of adventure travel makes it a viable market segment in the international travel and tourism industry. The report approaches Max’s recreation services from the conceptual dimension of adventure tourism. This report highlights various strategies of Max’s marketing strategies that involve risk management also. The main aim of this report is to develop a study paper on the topic that is rarely available as a whole. Adventure recreation is always there started from the past leisure or recreation activities. But now it develops into a booming business for empirical application. It is clear from the report that environment, activity and experience have been identified a key variables to the world of adventure travels. Max’s adventure recreation is integrated with components such as risk, motivation, and performance. The definition examined in this report needs additional thought and development, and could be improved further with more inputs. It is recommended that an integrated approach should be adopted to improve the risk management of Max’s adventure recreation services. Marketing and strategies should be as per prescribed rules of the country. The marketing approach of Max needs a highly activity-oriented segment emphasizing sophisticated levels of experience and expertise. It is true that adventure recreation and wilderness experience is closely inter-related as the adventure recreation activities generally involve risk and danger. And managing that risk with better understanding of the nature of program would ease that risk and gives clear insight to manage the risk accordingly. The demand for adventure recreation is expected to grow faster that other outdoor activities (OCA, 2006). It will automatically increase Max’s role as an adventure recreation services providers. References Arnould, E.J., and L.L. Price, 1993, "River magic: extraordinary experience and the extended service encounter, " Journal of Consumer Research, pp. 24-25. Buckley, R.C., 2004, Environmental Impacts of Ecotourism, CAB International, Oxford. Ewert, A. W., 1989, Outdoor adventure pursuits: foundations, models, models, and theories. Columbus, OH: Publishing Horizons Ewert, A. W. & Hollenhorst, S. J., 1989, Testing the adventure model: Empirical support for a model of risk recreation participation. Joutmal of Leisure Research, 21, 2, 124-139. E. Jerome McCarthy & William D. Perreault, 1998, Basic Marketing: A Global-managerial Approach, Mcgraw-Hill College; 13th edition. Hall, C.M., 1992, Adventure, sport and health tourism. In B. Weiler & C.M. Hall, (Eds.), 141- 158. Special Interest Tourism. London: Belhaven Press. Hall, C.M., & Weiler, B., 1992, What's special about special interest tourism? In B. Weiler & C.M. Hall, (Eds.), 1-14. Special Interest Tourism. London: Belhaven Press. Iso-Ahola, 5., 1980, The social psychology of leisure and tourism. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Co. Outdoor Council of Australia Inc. (OCA), 2006, Report: To develop and promote a professional community that provides quality outdoor experiences. Outdoor recreational Industry Council, Australia (ORIC), 2006, The 2006 ORIC Conference "Walk the Talk": Putting into Practice. Priest, S., 1992, Factor exploration and confirmation for the dimensions of an adventure experience. Journal of Leisure Research. 24 (2), 127-139. Schuett, M. A., 1993, Refining measures of adventure recreation involvement. Leisure Sciences. 15, 205-216. Schrader, M. P. & Warm, D. L., 1999, High-risk recreation: The relationship between participants characteristics and degree of involvement. Journal of Sport Behavior. 22 (3), 426-443. Read More