Adventure tourism and its relationship between activities and loyalty

Adventure tourism represents a valuable opportunity for emerging destinations. This study, conducted in Santa Elena (Ecuador), a coastal province with diverse adventure activities, aims to: (a) identify the most popular adventure tourism activities and determine their frequency of practice, (b) evaluate the relationship between preferences for adventure activities and the sociodemographic characteristics of tourists, such as gender, education level, and age, and (c) analyze the relationship between sociodemographic aspects and tourist loyalty, measured by their intention to revisit the destination, speak positively about it, and recommend it to others. A quantitative approach was employed, using a sample of 318 valid responses collected online. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were applied to examine the relationships among the variables. The results confirmed that longer stays at an adventure destination positively influence revisit intention, recommendation, and speaking positively about the destination. Tourists who spent more time at the destination formed stronger emotional and social connections, increasing their likelihood to revisit and recommend it. However, higher daily expenditure was associated with a lower intention to recommend the destination, especially when tourists did not perceive a unique or exceptional experience. Valuable findings on how sociodemographic factors and travel experience influence loyalty in adventure tourism.