Adventure tourism is a rising segment of the tourism industry where tourists undertake an activity outside of their comfort zone and where some risk is an essential feature. Some consider it as a broad spectrum of outdoor tourist activities. Therefore, understanding it and how it could be influenced by economic, social, political, health, and natural factors is vital for businesses and local governments. This research identifies and analyses how a set of external factors may affect the index that measures adventure tourism development worldwide—the so-called Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI). The objective is to provide helpful information to stakeholders, particularly the policy-makers, on elements that should be addressed to develop this tourism segment. Considering data for 191 economies over the last decade, an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation has been performed. The results show that adventure tourism is dependent on innovation, and economies with more ability and success in innovation will have a competitive advantage in the industry. Aside from that, a higher health expenditure per capita and cultural diversity influence how appealing a destination are to adventure travelers.
