Exploring the Travel Behavior and Experiences of Norwegian Surfers: Cold-Versus Warm-Water Surfing

Abstract

More affordable travel opportunities have facilitated a swift rise in surf tourism, which is a growing multibillion dollar global business niche within the broader sport tourism industry. It is argued that a growing number of surfers who are searching for the perfect wave without the crowds found in well-established surfing destinations are shifting to cold-water surfing. Previous research on surf tourism has largely focused on warm- and temperate-water surfing and related travel. However, an exploration of and an attempt to comprehend cold-water surf tourism and how it compares to similar activities in warm water has been overlooked. This study focuses on understanding the travel behavior and related experiences of Norwegian surf tourists domestically and internationally, to cold- and warm-water destinations. Data were collected using a phenomenological approach and semistructured in-depth interviews with 18 experienced Norwegian surfers. Results show that these surfers are highly mobile, visiting warm-water surf destinations such as Morocco, Bali, Australia, and Hawaii and also cold-water surf destinations such as Norway, Iceland, Scotland, and Canada. They travel to surf at least once a year, staying between 10 days and 3 months, preferably in cheap accommodation. The longer the travel distance, the longer the stay. Their experiences of "localism," where local surfers behave aggressively toward visiting surfers, were more common in crowded warm-water destinations. In addition to the enjoyment of surfing, these Norwegian surf tourists valued opportunities to create new social relationships, experience new and different cultures, and expand their "world-view" via their surf travel. They appreciated unique natural environments and experienced a deep connection to nature. This research presents the first empirical data on the travel behavior and related experiences of surf tourists from a nontraditional surfing nation in Scandinavia.