Recommendations for Evaluating Expeditions and Adventure Travel in the Media

Adventure travel, expeditions, and exploration are more visible than ever across both traditional and digital media. However, how they are reported and represented is becoming increasingly problematic. As participation grows and media coverage expands, the line between noteworthy expeditions and personal or guided adventure travel has become blurred. This creates a challenge for editors, storytellers, and audiences alike. How do we recognise quality and genuine noteworthiness in an age defined by constant record claims and exaggerated narratives? This working paper does not propose a rigid framework. Instead, it offers guidance through a set of considerations designed to help journalists and audiences assess expeditions with greater clarity and consistency. At its core are five key factors: originality, distance, technical difficulty, remoteness, and independence. These are supported by secondary considerations including prior knowledge and purpose. This paper is intended as a starting point for further discussion, with the aim of refining these ideas through engagement with the wider adventure community.