Inside/outside the Western 'Bubble': The nexus of adventure, adventure sports and perceptions of risk in UK and Mauritius

Globalization can be thought of as the widening, deepening and quickening of the worldwide interconnections in social, cultural, political and economic life (Held et al., 1999). For adventure sports enthusiasts from the West, this has opened up the world for them to pursue their activities in more ‘exotic’ natural locations. Marketing of adventure holidays has increased with the greater ease of travelling to suitable geographical locations, providing apparently ‘authentic’ adventure experiences1. Whilst adventure sports and the notion of risk in ‘exotic’ locations have been explored in some ‘visitor expectation’ literature (Swarbrooke, et al.,2003), little or no research has examined the nexus of local cultural understandings and practice of adventure, and Western perceptions of adventure risk. In this paper, I consider the ways in which adventure and risk are perceived and understood from educational and sociological Western perspectives. Critiques of adventure education and activities provision are made highlighting concerns around the ‘packaging’ of these experiences through the notion of MacDonaldisation. This is further developed through attention to the commodification of adventure sports and adventure holidays, drawing attention to the ways in which consumers are encouraged to ‘buy into’ the product without fully understanding the skills and experience needed to participate with, on occasions, dire consequences. The paper then goes on to explore different cultural understandings of risk through an auto/ethnography of the Mauritian experience as both University lecturer and a recreational windsurfer at a world renowned European managed wind surfing centre