Academic Training for Adventure Tourism Professionals in Valencia, Spain.

In adventure tourism sector, one of the aspects that most concerns the collective is to offer a complete and quality service. For this, human resources are a fundamental component, since a company is defined based on the quality of its workers. This study attempts to analyse the current situation of training in adventure tourism in the "Comunidad Valenciana". This region is one of the regions of Spain that promotes nature tourism the most. The research analyses the existing training possessed by workers in this sector in order to see if the real needs of the sector are met. In Spain, there are some official qualifications that try to cover the legal requirements requested within the adventure tourism sector. These are sports training (sports technicians and higher sports technicians) and educational training (Degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Technician in Conducting Physical Activities in the Natural Environment and Higher Technician in Physical-Sports Animation). The priority qualification that guides have is Sports Technician; however, these qualifications do not cover all the existing offer. Of the 67 activities recognised by Valencian legislation, only 26 have a recognised sports qualification. This produces a legal gap in the training of many activities. Besides, the professional training of "Technician in Conducting Physical Activities in the Natural Environment" is the qualification that includes a greater number of modalities within its competences (cycling, trekking, horse riding). So, this qualification offers greater versatility and allows to act as a guide in more activities. However, this qualification is not common among the group of workers in adventure tourism. This is due to the guides who have this qualification are usually young, with little experience and little training to carry out the functions of an adventure tourism guide. In Europe, professional training is regulated from the field of tourism and outdoor leisure. The aim is to make the training much more specific and acquire skills in line with the real needs of the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]