FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — From increases in diversity to an uptick in female groups, the outdoor adventure industry in the New River Gorge region in West Virginia has witnessed significant shifts in guest participation in recent years, according to an industry spokesman.
Those trends have been evident at Adventures on the Gorge, an adventure resort on the edge of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, during a period that CEO Roger Wilson characterizes as "an exciting and encouraging time in outdoor recreation."
The Outdoor Industry Association outlined many trends in its 2023 and 2024 Participation Trends Reports. Among those findings is an uptick in diversity, including increased participation among Blacks, Latinos, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Increased numbers of women and youths are also participating in outdoor recreation. Certain activities, such as camping, fishing, and climbing, also increased.
Wilson said that he and his team were not surprised by these industry stats and had observed and noted the same exciting changes in the resort's guest demographics.
Over the last 40 years, as the New River Gorge became known among outdoor-focused travelers, the resort began to draw more than just the whitewater rafters for which the gorge was a chief lure.
Anglers and rock climbers joined them, he said. Even though these travelers had different tastes in adventures, they had one thing in common: most of them were Caucasian.
More families in New River Gorge but little diversity
Over the years, the resort added new adventures and built cabins large enough for families, accommodating the increasing numbers of families who came for kid-appropriate adventures like rafting certain sections of the New River. Still, Wilson said diversity was lacking.
However, the resort’s leadership noticed a change in the guest demographics a few years ago. Not only was the resort drawing more Black guests, but there were also more members of the LGBTQ+ community. The resort is a popular wedding destination for gay couples and female-only groups.
“Ten years ago, you would see very little diversity in the resort’s guest makeup, but that has changed quite a bit, particularly in the last five years,” he said.
Wilson’s family has lived in the region for generations, so he is especially attuned to visitor changes.
“This has been an exciting development here, and we are continuing to do everything we can to make sure that all of our guests—including our guests of color—feel welcomed.”
What changed? Like most positive progress, Wilson says there are many reasons for this gradual change in demographics, and it often starts with an invitation.
Wilson and other company leaders were inspired by the messages of outdoor recreation enthusiast and speaker Earl B. Hunter, who founded Black Folks Camp, Too. Hunter shared his organization’s motto, “You Are Invited and Welcomed!” with countless groups, state travel organizations, outdoor industry retailers, and others who share the goal of promoting outdoor recreation.
His message inspired Wilson and his team to tweak their marketing initiatives to ensure that their messages reached an expanded audience, including affluent suburbs of Washington, D.C., and other markets and organizations with outdoor programs for urban youth.
The company also enhanced its efforts to draw multi-generational gatherings, a niche the resort is especially positioned to host because of its array of cabins, vacation homes, and other accommodation options.
Not just demographics; it’s also about the adventures
Whitewater rafting has long been the cornerstone of the adventure industry in southern West Virginia. Still, its most enthusiastic participants, mostly outdoorsy white men, have begun to age out and no longer raft, and the sport has been steadily losing that category for years, Wilson said.
Through various marketing initiatives over the last five years, the resort succeeded in increasing participation among younger rafters. It featured programs such as offering free rafting to kids with an adult.
By introducing rafting to kids when young, its leadership believes it will see those participants return as they age, eventually bringing their kids to raft the New or Gauley River.
However, anyone with children will understand the need for other activities to keep them entertained. With more than two dozen adventures, children and families can choose activities like canopy tours, paintball, laser tag, rock climbing, and guided hikes in the national park.
The resort also offers adventures for older adults—including one-time rafters—who no longer wish to paddle but still want to play outside. New to the resort’s adventure line-up this year are Jet Boat Tours, and a couple of years ago, the resort added guided national park driving tours.
Wilson said those soft adventure tours are immensely popular among older adventurers and their families.
“We’ve learned to observe and adapt, and it is paying off,” he said.
“Today, when I walk around the resort, I see far more ethnic diversity among our guests, a lot more multi-generational families, and a huge number of all-woman groups and friend groups enjoying time in the outdoors.”
Wilson said that the staff has made a focused effort to tune into the needs of their guests and changes in the guest demographics so that the resort can continue to respond with marketing adjustments and additional adventures.
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