Gender differences in competitive adventure sports tourism

Competitive adventure sports tourism, involving such activities as mountain climbing and ultramarathon running, has traditionally been dominated by men. Although women's participation has grown, the gender gap is still pronounced in terms of quantitative engagement in these forms of sport tourism. Yet, when the percentage of people who reach the finish line is taken into account, women tend to be higher achievers, slightly more often than men. Based on data from selected mountain climbs and ultra-trail runs (124,508 participants), we argue that there is a clear gender disparity in terms of male-to-female participation ratios, but with a higher number of women than men meeting their intended objectives. Arguably, to gain insight into potential gender inequities or differences within the competitive adventure sport tourism sector, the quantitative and qualitative engagement of male and female participants, should be explored.