Abstract

Catalunya has established itself as an ideal place for the enjoyment of open-air adventure physical activities due to the existence of an important private business net attentive to the growing demand of practitioners. The excursion and mountain tradition, the terrain, the urban development and its particular cultural, social and economic make up, has facilitated the imbedding of this group of practices, that now forms a solid offer of tourist adventure sports.
The firms that manage open-air adventure physical activities (AFAN) have gone past the public sector and organised a wide set of small commercial entities, that have helped, indirectly, to correct the economic and demographic imbalances in disfavoured territories. The businessmen of adventure tourism have come out strongly to offer a service around these activities and channel the flow of the demand of this broad sector of the population in their majority young people (15-35 years). They have tried to attract a rebellious and non-conventional spirit providing for this social segment an attractive packet of activities of risk in the open-air with strong and unusual emotions through the use of the most varied and sophisticated mechanical artefacts. In this work we present an investigation on the area of supply and demand in the private sector of adventure tourism in Catalunya, which shows that this area of active leisure is circumscribed by the following key parameters:
–    The basic profile is that of a small company offering touristic services.
–    Successful marketing of the offer of companies in this sector hin¬ges around the triangle enjoyment-nature-adventure.
–    Rafting is the most emblematic activity.
–    There is a considerable legal void.
–    The environmental impact is small.
–    There is a minimum rate of accidents in relation to the numbers of participants compared with other sectors.