Asia Transpacific Journeys Garners Three Awards: Prestigious Travel Magazines Cite Philanthropy, Travel Commitment
October 29, 2009
BOULDER, CO – Asia Transpacific Journeys, an Asia tour company, received three awards in November 2009 for their commitment to philanthropy, regional expertise and in-depth knowledge of travel in Asia, announced Marilyn Downing Staff, founder and CEO.
Travel + Leisure magazine presented the annual Global Vision Award to the Asia Transpacific Foundation for their outreach in Myanmar (Burma), where the non-profit foundation creates and operates locally staffed production facilities that produce simple ceramic water filters, which in turn provide clean drinking water to undeveloped rural areas in Asia.
National Geographic Adventure magazine gave the company star billing in its “25 Best New Trips for 2010” feature story, recognizing Asia Transpacific Journeys exploration of Laos.
“Northern Laos has such a remarkable natural setting”, noted Downing Staff, “where vertical limestone mountains meet up with the Nam Ou River which winds through the area and is perfect for exploration.” National Geographic Adventure magazine suggested that “Guests can leave the planning to Asia Transpacific Journeys, the first (and so far, only) outfitter to run trips here.”
Travel + Leisure magazine also singled out the company’s depth of commitment and regional expertise for travel in Vietnam by including its tour of Vietnam in the category of “15 Trips to Change Your World.” Says Travel + Leisure, “Asia Transpacific Journeys, with over 20 years experience in the region, is the ultimate guide to the country’s history and culture.”
About Asia Transpacific Journeys
Asia Transpacific Journeys is a Boulder, Colorado-based Asia travel company and Asia tour operator specializing in Custom Journeys and Small Group Trips to Asia and the Pacific region since 1987. Outstanding service, long-standing connections in Asia and deeply insightful cultural interpretation make them the Asia travel company of choice for the American Museum of Natural History, The Harvard and Yale alumni associations, the World Wildlife Fund, as well as discerning individuals, their families and friends. Journey Beyond the Ordinary ™
Adventure Travel Trade Association Selects Aviemore, Scotland to Host the 2010 Adventure Travel World Summit
October 29, 2009
(SEATTLE) – OCTOBER 29, 2009 – The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) announced its selection of Scotland as the host destination of the seventh Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS), the annual global assembly of adventure tourism executives, in 2010, which is scheduled for October 4-7 at the Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort.
During last week’s 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit in Québec, Canada, attended by more than 500 delegates representing nearly 50 countries, the ATTA announced its selection of Scotland. The ATTA decided on Scotland after a lengthy and detailed review, including several presentations and site visits, of destinations worldwide. Salta, Argentina, was the first runner-up in the bidding process.
“Hosting this summit is an excellent opportunity for both Scotland and the Adventure Travel Trade Association to highlight the many options for adventure travel, business and recreation in Scotland,” said Minister for Tourism Jim Mather. “It is vital that we continue to look at new and innovative ways of attracting new visitors to our great country through initiatives such as this, ensuring that Scotland continues to be one of the ‘must visit’ destinations in the world that is open for business all year round.”
Scotland’s successful bid hinged upon many factors, most importantly for VisitScotland’s enthusiasm, planning and strategic vision, for a supportive government at the highest levels, for the country’s commitment to sustainable lifestyles, for its world-class adventure travel resources, and its early and active engagement of regional partners to strengthen European involvement in the event. VisitScotland also secured the support of Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, rallied several major country tourism boards to support the trade conference, and partnered with event venue, transportation and accommodation partners to ensure a high value, cost-effective event for delegates worldwide.
“With such incredible destinations stepping up to host our the adventure travel community’s annual gatherings, the Summit site decision-making process has become more and more challenging,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “Scotland’s inventive approaches, understanding of the ATTA’s short- and long-term vision, and its commitment to our mutual success gave this emerging adventure travel destination the edge.”
The ATTA’s Summit conferences engage, enlighten, inspire, and energize the leaders of the adventure travel community with executive-level networking, business and professional development programs, educational seminars and emerging adventure destination product review opportunities. Among the special offerings slated for 2010, the ATTA will feature new “Transformative Thinking” plenary sessions, enhanced special programs dedicated to connect delegates with high quality journalists, and “Key Market Forces” and “Tactics for Today” sessions designed to help adventure travel organizations turn operational, marketing, partnership and prospect challenges and opportunities into results-oriented endeavors.
With its ATWS events, the ATTA and its Summit delegates, primarily tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, media, agents, adventure lodges, and service organizations (e.g., transportation, technology, marketing, etc.), influence the manner in which adventure travel is introduced, executed and sustained in any given destination worldwide. These adventure travel organizations collaborate to encourage the industry to adopt sustainability and best practices that give back to the people and places impacted by adventure travel.
Host destination of the 2010 Adventure Travel World Summit is Scotland. Registration is accessible at www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com.
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (www.adventuretravel.biz) is a privately held, global membership organization dedicated to unifying, networking, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive trade conferences (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), the ATTA also makes possible www.Adventure.Travel, the traveler’s hub of physical, cultural and nature-based adventure travel and guide to trusted tour operators from around the globe.
Adventure Travel – Why It Matters
October 26, 2009
Delivered by Adventure Travel Trade Association President Shannon Stowell, October 21, 2009 at the Adventure Travel World Summit, Quebec, Canada.
“In the past I’ve delivered ‘state of the industry’ addresses mostly based on facts that the ATTA has gathered and surveys we have done- a lot of quantitative data. Now, as ATTA matures, it’s time to talk about a bigger picture. And we’ve heard you: as we’ve matured, you have raised the bar for us; you’ve asked us to grow in our leadership role and to share our vision.
In Fortune Magazine this year an article called Who’s Up, Who’s Down- Ranked within Industries, the opener goes like this: “In a historic year of red ink, among the worst hit were banks, automakers, homebuilders, airlines and hotels. A few industries managed to stay aloft, thanks to the necessity of their products and services: pharma, hospitals and defense.” Clearly we operate in an undervalued industry. This is shortsighted since tourism is a cross-industry catalyst, pouring money into the baseline of a myriad of businesses in multiple sectors. To ignore tourism is to ignore arguably the world’s largest contributor to GDP.
We heard why adventure travel matters: transformation, discovery, engagement, web of life, authenticity. These do answer the question in general, but why do we as an industry matter? How would it be different if we were absent?
- We are one of the few industries that intrinsically can achieve the triple bottom line goal of people, planet and profit. While many businesses struggle to figure out how to either add environmental and social issues to their image or portfolio to become or appear more responsible, we can make them an integral part of our business!
- Because we are one of the few industries that deals in transformation, we create advocates not just repeat customers. I’d like to quote Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
- More than ever, travelers are interested in the authentic and real. Adventure travel is surging as an interest among travelers worldwide. Tourism boards – from Belize to Jordan to Nepal and Argentina – approached us in 2009 for involvement with their industry events.
A couple of thoughts on these points:
ATTA’s business philosophy: We believe that your business success is of paramount importance. As one of our panelists said at the very first summit “if you aren’t profitable, no one cares about your passionate views on sustainability and responsibility.” Your ability to have impact is limited unless you are successful. The ATTA’s core strengths have always been on the business side: marketing, business development, partnerships, PR, events like this Summit. We will continue to live in our strength for you, our members and the industry at large.
If you think ideals of responsibility, sustainability, social justice, etc., are rare, undoable or unrealistic or for non profits only, let me tell you about just a few stories coming from our members that I’ve gathered while here.
- In Uganda, one of our members brings tourists to see the gorillas. Without tourists, it is likely that the gorillas would not survive. There simply would be no incentive for the locals to protect them.
- Similarly in India, one of our members tells us, “More eyes on the tigers protects the tigers”. When an eco-lodge moves in, the tiger population goes up. If you go outside the tourism zone, there are no tigers.
- A company runs snowmobile tours in Maine- their vision is for the machines to go electric, to be quiet for wildlife and eliminate gaseous emissions. He pressures manufacturers with ideas of how to do so.
- In Fiji, a rafting company has a % of its revenues go to the locals who own the riverside forest with an agreement to leave them untouched
There are thousands of stories out there and, in fact, are in this audience. We as an industry are getting connected and organized. An industry veteran of 30 years told me the other day that, he has never seen such a spirit of generosity in the industry as now. I think it’s a sign of maturity over fear of sharing information. We now gather on an annual basis and connect regularly through many different online communities. We as an industry create partnerships and share best practices.
You have helped transform this industry. The last two Summits that the ATTA held were in Brazil and Norway. In Brazil, we’ve heard directly from the governmental and associate parties that the Summit has changed the way they view adventure travel and that the industry is now strongly connected and partnering. It has become one of the most successful of their 64 tourism segments.
The Summit in Norway confirmed they should adjust toward adventure travel and this helped drive a restructuring of Norway’s focus and positioning as a destination. In fact, a $30mm grant they recently won for the Norwegian Center for Excellence was partly due to the Summit-inspired vision for a place that can serve as a center for excellence for sustainable tourism.
As we’ve analyzed the story-tellings outcomes and had countless conversations with you, antagonists in our story emerge.
There are many troubling issues that are unique to this era- Dr. Reeves threw a glass of cold water on our consciousness last night speaking of biodiversity erosion & climate change. These join issues such as global cultural conflict, distribution disruption on a mass scale, insane levels of consumption, and people becoming increasingly divorced from the land and lost in the electronic world. In reality, underneath it all, there is nothing new under the sun. The same old problems just show up in a different form. Which is why wisdom from the ages is called for when thinking about how to deal with root causes of issues.
As Edward and Sheree mentioned, Stories connect us to fundamental truths. Charles Dickens in his incredible story, “A Christmas Carol” features a man named Scrooge who cares nothing for others but focuses only on increasing his wealth even at the expense and extreme suffering of his employees and neighbors- his local economy. In the story he is haunted and warned by three Ghosts. At the apex of the warning, Scrooge is told: ”Above all, beware ignorance and want, and most of all ignorance, for on its brow is written doom unless the writing is erased.” My friends- this is the battle that we already fight whether we are aware of it or not. Against ignorance. Against want. At the root of these are things like greed and gluttony. These are the common enemy. While we may see antagonism in certain camps like mass tourism, governmental policies, etc., in fact it is the human condition that is behind so many of our challenges. Compassion and Love, as we heard from Drs.’ Reeves and Wallace, is called for. And ACTION!
There is so much ignorance about other cultures, about environmental impacts, about the consequences and power of our money in local communities. In your work, you destroy ignorance! By creating thriving businesses, you have an impact on want! How more noble a cause can we find so squarely in the path of our daily business? I know tourism is not a silver bullet, but it is part of the solution.
Are you in a governmental agency? Support your adventure travel community no matter what stage they are in. They need you…and you need them. It represents a key part of your destination’s future! Are you a journalist? Tell the stories. Are you a technologist? Help solve our industry’s logistical, financial and distribution problems. I can’t list all slices of the industry right now, but clearly we all have a vital role to play!
We as an industry are not tiny. We are not a small group of backpackers or extreme sports enthusiasts any more. We represent millions and millions of customers worldwide as a group. Ecolodges, adventure operators, outfitters, safari companies, rafting companies, diving companies, walking tours, the list goes on endlessly. You should know that ATTA has partnered with The George Washington University on two fronts- to develop the Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI) to bring sustainability standards to development and we are currently about to come out with market sizing data to put real numbers around this gray area and prove our worth to a world that requires data. But we know instinctively that as a group we do impact millions of travelers and nearly every region on the planet with what we do.
And as for action- what is the ATTA’s role in this? We are a catalyst, a hub, a refuge, a facilitator. Most of the impact is and will be made by you! But we will continue to bring together the leaders of the industry to share knowledge, become better businesses and communicate the stories. If we help you in flourish, we achieve our goals. As Brian Rosborough from EarthWatch said last year- YOU are the front line of the army of responsible tourism. As a speaker this morning said- we can be a sort of UN of travel providers- fearless advocates of human rights and environmental protection.
Do we have an action plan? YES. Beyond refining what we currently do, we intend to publish a ‘set of principles’. We have listened to you for years, been involved in the discussions and through StoryTellings now have concrete direction on what this industry dreams adventure travel to be and to accomplish. We will then release it for comment by you, the members on The HUB, our membership’s online forum. We’ll continue to refine this living document. We do not intend to be police or regulators. But we will lead, we ask you to lead and together drive this movement. Why does this matter? So the world who hears from us will know what we stand for and in hopes that they will be inspired to do the same.
Members- we achieved an all time high of 500 members the week before the summit. Philosophically, the ATTA doesn’t want just anyone as a member. We want the best, collaborative companies from each region- those who are successful in business and hold to the set of principles that help define our community’s basic standards and aim at the triple bottom line. We want the destinations who will measure success not only in number of arrivals, but also ask the questions: are wildlife and environment being protected, are we paying attention to carrying capacities, are local economies benefiting, are resources being protected?
That being said, we don’t want to be a community that only agrees with itself- we want to provide resources, motivation and the opportunity for all who are trying to navigate the difficulties of business success and responsibility in this era. What will ATTA success look like? The ATTA membership increasingly connected and exchanging knowledge on The HUB. The organization being known increasingly as a home for leaders. A worldwide tribe of adventure travel pros giving each other a hand wherever need be. This is where we need your help. When you return from this summit, don’t invite everybody to be a part- but do invite the leaders from your region who hold this same success philosophy. What will Summit success look like?
Well, it looks a lot like what Brazil and Norway experienced in 2008 and what is happening here in Quebec!- Transformation of industry and positioning, and an incredible growth in awareness of adventure tourism and its principles. Inspiration to protect the beautiful things that are the center of our business and in fact our lives. The size of the Summit will cap out. We’re not far from it now. We don’t want growth just for the sake of growth and lose and dilute what currently happens here. Instead we will focus on making what exists betterDo you have a vision for your organization? Ours was small. When re-starting this organization, I got a box of files, a list and and an opportunity to work with cool people from my home office. I didn’t realize then that there was a tiger on the other end of that tail. Our vision took time to birth, but now we’re ready.Our vision is now very clear: We will be a thriving community of responsible, profitable businesses, destinations and media who transform customers and businesses alike into advocates for sustainability and justice worldwide. And like Dr. Reeves said last night- I am not optimistic nor am I pessimistic, but I am determined. May we all as a tribe be determined together.”
Sven Lindblad Receives 2009 Climate Champion Award
October 22, 2009
From Cool Air-Clean Planet, the leading science-based, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to global warming
New York, NY – Sven-Olof Lindblad, founder of Lindblad Expeditions, received a Climate Champion Award from Clean Air-Cool Planet for his leadership in corporate climate action at an awards dinner in Boston on October 15th.
Clean Air-Cool Planet is the leading science-based, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to global warming. Lindblad was honored for his lifelong commitment to global conservation issues.
“It is a pleasure to be able to award Sven Lindblad, who has dedicated his life to conservation of natural resource and biodiversity, with this year’s Climate Champion Award for individual leadership in climate action” said Clean Air-Cool Planet CEO Adam Markham. “Under his leadership, Lindblad Expeditions has become a world leader in bringing people to the world’s wildest and most beautiful, and in engaging them in efforts to preserve our natural resources, the world’s wild and beautiful places, and the livelihoods and cultures of indigenous peoples.”
The award will be presented to Lindblad for his ongoing pioneering work in sustainable travel, including an Arctic expedition in the summer of 2008 in which more than 100 diverse opinion leaders convened aboard the National Geographic Endeavour in Svalbard, Norway to work together to find new solutions to climate change. His tireless efforts to engage governments, NGOs, businesses and expedition travelers throughout his career, have brought major conservation benefits to habitats as diverse as those of the Galapagos Islands, Baja California, Antarctica and the Arctic.
This year’s winners also include:
- Chewonki Foundation of Wiscasset, ME, for the quality and level of innovation of its outreach and education efforts;
- Furman University in Greensville, SC, for its innovative climate action planning model, the breadth of its campus sustainability initiatives, and the visionary leadership in the higher education community of its President, Dr. David Shi;
- Hannaford Supermarkets for opening the world’s first LEED Platinum certified supermarket in Augusta, Maine and leadership in corporate climate action;
- Representative Edward J. Markey for leadership in the fight for a more progressive energy strategy in the House of Representatives;
- SunEdison for its unique business model supporting the development of large scale renewable energy projects;
- Dr. Susan F. Tierney, founding board member at CA-CP, former environmental affairs commissioner for Massachusetts and assistant secretary for policy in the US Department of Energy, for her work in the energy and climate field;
- And the Town of Temple, NH for its common sense, citizen-supported efficiency projects, conservation and continuing education.
“Having built a global business with conservation and environmental stewardship as core business tenets, it is such an honor to be recognized by Clean Air-Cool Planet. Together with the other awardees – past and present – I hope we can add significant value to promote necessary change,” said Sven Lindblad, Founder of Lindblad Expeditions.
Past winners of the award for their leadership in climate action include governors John Baldacci of Maine and George Pataki of New York; Bank of America, Oakhurst Dairy, Staples and Timberland; Hull, MA, and Maplewood, NJ; Middlebury College, UNH, and Tufts University.
About Lindblad Expeditions
Lindblad Expeditions is an expedition travel company providing voyages in the Galápagos, Antarctica, Baja California, Alaska, the Arctic, and beyond. In 2004, Lindblad Expeditions joined in a mission-driven alliance with National Geographic to inspire people to explore and care about the planet. As pioneers of global exploration, the organizations work in tandem to produce innovative marine expedition programs and to promote conservation and sustainable tourism around the world. Lindblad Expeditions has been named “#1 Small-Ship Cruise Line” and “#1 Small Ship for Families” (Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Value Awards 2009); “The Best Ships in the World” and “The Best Itineraries” (Condé Nast Traveler: Truth in Travel Awards 2008 and 2006).
Product, Marketing Strategies To Shift in 2010 According to First Half 2009 Adventure Travel Tour Operator Study
October 15, 2009
Results of an August-September 2009 Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) first-half of 2009 survey, which reveals the perspectives of 287 tour operators spanning 51 countries, reflects changes in traveler interests and behaviors which are influencing tour operators’ product and marketing approaches planned in 2010.
Participating tour operators, which together serve roughly two million customers annually, in responding to a series of questions concerning actual and perceptual changes in consumer behaviors experienced between January and June 2009, reported that travelers are showing increased interest in the following:
- Custom itineraries: 84% (i.e., 84% of operators reported an increased interest)
- Shorter duration trips: 73%
- Closer-to-home, shorter haul trips: 55%
- Activity based adventures: 79%
- Cultural-interaction adventures: 70%
- Volunteering within travel: 40%
- Multigenerational travel: 55%
According to the ATTA study, customers of surveyed tour operators also showed changing interest in destinations and booking behavior in the first half of 2009. Regions of the world tour operators indicated travelers expressed the highest positive change in interest compared to 2008 included South America (26%), North America (24%), Southern Africa (24%), Western Europe (23%), Middle East (20%) and South Asia (20%).
Meanwhile, operators also reported that travelers are booking trips closer to the actual time of departure. Thirty-five percent of tour operators believe that travelers’ shorter booking windows are here to stay or that the period will be even shorter than it is now. And, one third of operators believe that the booking window in the future will be completely unpredictable.
In line with traveler shifts, approximately half of the tour operators intend to offer more variety of inventory in 2010, with very few reporting a reduction in product offerings. The ATTA interprets, based on formal survey responses and feedback gathered through informal phone surveys throughout 2009, that operators may be increasing product variety to keep up with travelers’ changing preferences, including increasing demand for custom trip, shorter-duration and varied price-point options, as well as to further distinguish for travelers specialized product that helps to further distinguish providers in a highly competitive environment.
“There also appears to be continued strong support among customers for high quality, value-oriented companies, especially those with a clear sustainability message”, said ATTA Vice President Chris Doyle. “Survey results continue to tell us that operators are quickly adjusting marketing and public relations efforts to better address the way in which travelers are becoming aware of and learning about adventure travel options, how they choose destinations and activities of interest, and when they book their holidays.”
Commensurate with the ATTA’s mid-year findings concerning shifting consumer interests, operators indicated that their marketing budgets and strategies also have shifted for 2010.
As in 2007 and 2008 ATTA tour operator surveys, shifts toward more online marketing continue in 2009, with activities such as search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword buying outflanking more traditional means of advertising. Of the 287 tour operators surveyed, 66 percent indicated that 2010 budgets are increasing for online advertising and 72 percent for SEO, while 77 percent plan to dedicate resources specifically for online social networks. Facebook, Twitter and Linked In were the top sites indicated for these endeavors. Additionally, while the social networking phenomenon aspect of the Internet continues to climb, tour operators also are increasingly returning to more traditional customer (‘social’) relationship practices, with both serious increases in both public relations (55%) and physical world consumer/client events and activities (72%).
In the study, traditional advertising budgets continued to decline. Forty-seven percent of operators reported they plan to decrease or eliminate print advertising all together in 2010. Sixty percent of respondents reported they plan to reduce the number of shipped catalogs, while 65 percent plan to more narrowly target their direct mail efforts. Forty-six percent of respondents reported eliminating print catalogs altogether in 2010, reflecting travelers’ move toward digital means of securing information about adventure travel options.
Tour operator booking and profit performance reports for the first half of 2009 were mixed. Despite the economic situation, 33 percent reported bookings in the first half of 2009 were up, eight percent reported flat bookings compared to prior year, and 56 percent reported bookings were down, of which most were reporting bookings down between 10-30 percent compared to the first six months of 2008. Thirty-five percent recorded profits in the first half, 13 percent were flat, and 51 percent recorded losses in the first half of 2009 compared to 2008. Survey responses for the survey reflect actual performance in the first six months of 2009.
“Overall, the adventure travel industry, while impacted by the economy, had solid pockets of resilience and most companies were able to flex enough to survive and in a few cases, thrive, especially in very recent months,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “Many companies did take fairly aggressive measures including layoffs, delay of capital expenditures, salary freezes and, ironically, travel budget reduction.” Not reported in this survey are anecdotal reports from phone surveys conducted between July and October 2009 of ATTA members and non-members indicating that bookings appear to be on the rise in the second half of 2009, so the thought of potential recovery is forefront.
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, networking, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market. ATTA members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, specialty travel agents, guides, accommodations, media and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive trade conferences (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), the ATTA also makes possible www.Adventure.Travel, the traveler’s hub of physical, cultural and nature-based adventure travel and guide to trusted tour operators from around the globe.
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Editor’s Note: The full study will be made available free to ATTA Members by October 16, 2009. It will be available to non members for $50USD via online download beginning the week of October 26th.
Fjord Norway’s Jørgensen Joins Adventure Travel Advisory Board
October 14, 2009
(SEATTLE) – OCTOBER 14, 2009 – Kristian B. Jørgensen, Managing Director of the Fjord Norway Tourist Board, today was named to the Adventure Travel Trade Association Advisory Board.
As Managing Director of Fjord Norway, Jørgensen oversees a region that is found in the Western part of Norway and stretches from Stavanger in the south to Ålesund in the north. Fjord Norway is a region that was rated by National Geographic Traveler’s panel of specialists as the world’s most attractive, unspoiled and best cared for UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Kristian brings a pragmatic yet progressive viewpoint to the ATTA and his interest and vision for Norway and adventure travel is right in line with how the ATTA views the importance of the sector,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell.
Jørgensen also brings exceptional destination marketing expertise, innovative sustainable tourism sensibilities and important European perspectives to the ATTA, a global trade association representing members from 56 countries. Jørgensen, veteran traveler having visited more than 80 countries and who speaks five languages, leads the Fjord Norway Tourist Board, an organization which has been nominated the best destination marketing company in Europe and has seen a 25 percent growth of tourism in the last four years.
Before working with Fjord Norway, Jørgensen was responsible for marketing Norway to international customers since 1992. For three years, he worked in the Norwegian Tourist Board putting together large international marketing campaigns; from 1997 to 2000 he was director of marketing for the organization that planned and carried out the European Capital of Culture Year 2000 in Bergen; and, for three years he was chief executive officer for the Historic Hotels and Restaurants of Norway. In addition, he served as vice president for the Historic Hotels of Europe, a hotel group organization consisting of 1,500 of the most unique hotels in Europe.
Other adventure travel industry experts committed to support the ATTA and its efforts to grow and sustain the adventure travel industry include the following Advisory Board Members:
- Richard Bangs, adventurer, entrepreneur, author, producer and director – “Richard Bangs’ Adventures with Purpose”
- Eric Brodnax, Vice President, Orbitz Worldwide – General Manager, Away.com & Outside Online
- Jeff Dossett, Chief Executive Officer, AdventureLink, Inc
- Urs Eberhard, Executive VP Markets & MICE Switzerland Tourism
- Francis X. Farrell, former publisher, Men’s Journal and National Geographic magazines
- Nicky Fitzgerald, Sales & Marketing Director, &Beyond
- Kurt Kutay, Founding Director and President of Wildland Adventures, Inc. and non-profit Travelers Conservation Trust
- Perry Lungmus, Director of Sales and Maketing, Travcoa
- Thornton May, Contributing Futurist, World Bank
- Helen Nodland, Founder Nodland Travel Enterprises, Chair of VAST, Virtuoso Travel Network
- Everett Potter, Author and Journalist, Contributing Editor, New York Times Syndicate, USA Today, Outside and others
- Gustavo Timo, Founder ABETA (Brazil Ecotourism and Adventure Association)
- Russell Walters, President, Northern Outdoors
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (http://www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, networking, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market. ATTA members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, specialty travel agents, guides, accommodations, media and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive trade conferences (http://www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), the ATTA also makes possible www.Adventure.Travel, the traveler’s hub of physical, cultural and nature-based adventure travel and guide to trusted tour operators from around the globe.
Adventure Travel Trade Association Achieves Key Milestones in 2009: Membership Growth, World Summit Registrations
October 13, 2009
(SEATTLE) – OCTOBER 13, 2009 – With the October 12, 2009, addition of Mexican tour operator Ecoaventura Mexicana, the global Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has grown to 500 corporate memberships representing 56 countries.
More than 100 organizations have joined the ATTA since January 2009, setting a new, one-year membership growth record, with more than two months remaining in the period. Additionally, the ATTA late last week eclipsed the 500 pre-registered delegate mark for its 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit, a trade-only executive gathering set for October 19-22, 2009, in Québec, Canada.
“Since re-launching the association in 2005 with around 100 members, our network has continued to grow, mature and effectively adapt its approach to reflect the ever-increasing needs of the global adventure travel community,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “I am particularly pleased that now 500 organizations believe in the vision and benefits of the ATTA. Registering growth, especially in a tough economic climate, is gratifying – I humbly take it as an indicator that we are providing real value for this space.”
To call attention to its 500 member-milestone, the ATTA will recognize at its 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit Ecoaventura Mexicana as its 500th member. In doing so, Ecoaventura Mexicana will receive an extra year’s membership in the ATTA.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to project Ecoaventura towards international markets and Mexico as world class adventure travel destination”, said Ecoaventura Mexicana Director General Ms. Yolanda Ruanova. “It is also crucial to capture all training and best practices opportunities available through the ATTA”.
Membership in the ATTA has fluctuated since its 1990 inception. Between 1990 and 2004, the organizational structure, fee structure, business mission and composition of membership varied greatly, with most of its members based in the United States. In 2004, the ATTA shuttered its doors, restructured under the leadership of Stowell, redefined its mission and re-launched in 2005 as a global organization dedicated to responsibly and sustainably promoting and growing the adventure travel sector. And, since its 2005 re-launch, with Stowell at the helm, the organization has gained global recognition as a key galvanizing force for the adventure travel community worldwide.
Since the start of 2007, the ATTA has more than doubled its membership size. Today, ATTA’s membership is compromised of the following categories: operators, agents and accommodations (332 members); tourism boards, ministries and destination marketing organizations (42 members); industry Partners (102 members); and Association Partners (24 members).
While its annual Summit events are open to all tourism professionals, ATTA a high percentage of ATTA Members meet at the annual Summit for executive-level networking, business and professional development programs, educational seminars and emerging adventure destination product review opportunities. Adventure Travel World Summit sponsors for 2009 include: Host Destination Tourisme Québec and Aventure Ecotourisme Québec; Major Sponsors ExOfficio, Global Rescue, and Men’s Journal; and Key Sponsors Alpine Tourist Commission, Archaeology Magazine, Best of the Alps, Brazil, Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism Promotion Corporation of Chile, Eddie Bauer, Visit Mexico, Innovation Norway, and National Geographic Adventure.
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (http://www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, networking, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive trade conferences (http://www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), the ATTA also makes possible http://www.Adventure.Travel, the traveler’s Adventure Travel hub of physical, cultural and nature-based adventure travel and guide to trusted tour operators from around the globe.
Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative
October 12, 2009
Guyana
www.guyanabirding.com
South America’s Undiscovered Nature Destination
Contact:
Kirk Smock
Senior Writer
Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative
E: ksmock@carana.com
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GUYANA: South America’s Undiscovered Nature Destination
Guyana lies where the Guiana Shield, one of the world’s four remaining large tracts of relatively undisturbed tropical rainforest, meets the Amazon Basin in a breathtaking collision of nature. With verdant rainforest carpeting 80 percent of the country, and other habitats varying from exotic mangroves to wild coastal swamps, rugged Atlantic beaches, lofty mountain ranges and sprawling savannahs that conjure comparisons to eastern Africa, Guyana offers the chance to view remarkable wildlife against the backdrop of one of the world’s most unspoiled natural wilderness areas.
Framed by Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and the Atlantic Ocean, Guyana is a paradise for nature lovers. Besides the lure of millions of acres of primary rainforest, South America’s only English-speaking country offers a rich biodiversity, welcoming Amerindian communities, frontier villages and unassuming eco-lodges.
Most of Guyana’s 83,000 square miles (comparable in size to Idaho) are unpopulated and undeveloped: 90 percent of Guyana’s 760,000 inhabitants live along a sliver of coastland that is just five percent of the country’s landmass. That means the majority of Guyana is a wild, tangled mess of nature.
Remarkable Flora and Fauna
Guyana’s pristine ecosystems play host to a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna, including healthy populations of many species that are listed as threatened or endangered by CITES. To date, research has identified more than 225 species of mammals, 880 species of reptiles and amphibians, 815 species of birds and 6,500 species of plants.
In the past few years, Guyana’s reputation as a top Neotropical birdwatching destination has exploded. For birdwatchers, Guyana’s fantastic range of more than 815 bird species include some 70 Guiana Shield endemics and other specialties including the magnificent Harpy Eagle, fluorescent Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, and an abundance of parrots and macaws that regularly fly overhead in flashes of bright color against the emerald forest canopy.
Guyana’s healthy mammal populations are regarded as exceptional, especially when compared with other Amazonian rainforests that have been ravaged by environmental degradation. Some of the world’s largest species thrive here – Jaguar, Giant Anteater, Giant River Otter, Giant Armadillo, Black Caiman (alligator), Capybara (rodent), Arapaima (freshwater fish), Green Anaconda, Giant River Turtle, Leatherback Turtle – and odds are good that visitors will see at least a few while visiting Guyana.
Other standout species include the Manatee, Tapir, Puma, Ocelot, Jaguarundi, eight primates, 120 species of bats, colorful poison dart frogs, four species of endangered sea turtles, Matamata Turtle, Bushmaster snake and Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula.
Ecotourism Playground
Tourism in Guyana is often described as unpretentious. Accommodations in the interior are intimate family-run lodges and authentic Amerindian villages where local guides unveil Guyana’s mysteries through finely tuned eyes and ears, vast and practical knowledge, and harrowing, yet comical, stories.
Whether you come in search of birds and wildlife, to stay with an Amerindian family, to trek an unexplored jungle mountain, to try your luck at catch-and-release sport fishing, or to test your merits on a jungle survival course, there is much to explore in Guyana.
The Atlantic Coast
The northwestern region of Guyana is filled with beautiful waterways, dense forests, rolling hills, and wide savannahs, all with little tourism development. But Shell Beach, a 90-mile stretch of unspoiled Atlantic coastline where endangered sea turtles lay their eggs, is a reason for intrepid travelers to visit. From March through August, Shell Beach is the nesting ground for four of the world’s eight endangered species of marine turtles: Leatherback, Green, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley. Guests stay at a rustic beach camp that is also the home base of a turtle conservation project that uses reformed turtle poachers as ‘Turtle Wardens’ to monitor the beach.
The Rainforests
In Guyana’s central rainforest, the Pakaraima Mountains cradle Guyana’s crown jewel: Kaieteur Falls. Found within the biodiversity hotspot of Kaieteur National Park – set atop one of the world’s oldest slabs of rock – Kaieteur Falls plunges a straight 741 feet, or five-times the height of Niagara Falls. At its peak, 30,000 gallons of water per second flow over a wall some 400 feet wide.
Dubbed “The Green Heart of Guyana,” Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development is a million-acre preserve that is used as a living laboratory for scientific research, ecotourism, and sustainable tropical forest management. The Iwokrama Forest contains an amazing cross-section of Guyana’s biodiversity, including 1,500 species of flora, 200 mammals, 500 birds, 420 fish, and 150 species of reptiles and amphibians.
A visit to Iwokrama entails exploring the rainforest via forest trails, rivers (including the mighty Essequibo, the largest river between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers), the lookout atop 1,000-foot-high Turtle Mountain, and the Canopy Walkway, which dangles 100 feet above the rainforest floor. And while sightings are never guaranteed, Iwokrama is one of the best places to see the elusive Jaguar and Harpy Eagle.
The Rupununi Savannahs
In the south of Guyana, the Rupununi Savannahs are an ecotourism playground. The 5,000-square-mile area encompasses grasslands, wetlands, rainforest-covered mountains, and numerous freshwater rivers. The Rupununi is also home to an extremely rich biodiversity, including 1,500 different plant species: more than 400 species of fish; 120 species of snakes, lizards and frogs; 105 mammal species; and more than 500 species of birds.
Tourism in the Rupununi is well established and includes several of Guyana’s most well known destinations. Where the rainforest meets the savannahs, Rock View Lodge offers a comfortable oasis that features beautiful rooms, the Rupununi’s only swimming pool and excellent food and fruit juices from garden fresh ingredients.
Further south, lodges along the Rupununi River include Karanambu Ranch, home of Diane McTurk’s Giant River Otter rehabilitation program. When Diane is rehabilitating orphaned or injured otters for their return to the wild, guests have a chance to get up close and personal. Depending on your comfort level around wild animals with razor sharp teeth, visitors can swim with the otters and hand feed them piranha.
Karanambu also offers a good chance to spot two of Guyana’s stranger creatures: Giant Anteaters and the world’s largest rodent, the Capybara. The ranch is also home to a healthy population of Guyana’s national flower and the largest of the giant water lilies, the Victoria amazonica.
At Dadanawa Ranch, a multi-textured cattle ranch that was once the largest in the world, expert guides lead guests in activities that include rounding up cattle with barefoot Amerindian cowboys and searching for Anacondas, big cats, bird-eating tarantulas, and the endangered Red Siskin.
Community Tourism
Guyana is also earning recognition for the community tourism experience offered by several Amerindian villages. Surama, an idyllic village set among an enticing mix of savannah and jungle-covered mountains, has long been the role model for community tourism in Guyana. The Surama Eco-Lodge and their tourism ethos and products – village tours, birdwatching trips, mountain treks, jungle walks, dugout canoe trips, jungle survival courses – were recently recognized by the Educational Travel Community, which named the village as their 2009 Responsible Tourism Showcase Honoree.
Based on Surama’s success – more than 70 of the village’s 300 residents are employed within tourism; roughly 60 percent of the community’s income now comes through tourism-related activities; and three-quarters of village households generate income from tourism – several of Guyana’s Amerindian villages in the Rupununi Savannahs are now developing sustainable tourism products.
Yupukari village has built upon a long-term ecological monitoring program for Black Caiman started by an American scientist, and now locals are continuing the research and running an ecotourism venture that invites visitors to join in nighttime research that entails catching, studying and then releasing the caiman. With funds from Conservation International (CI), Rewa village built an Eco-Lodge that provides access to some of Guyana’s most remote wilderness and excellent catch-and-release sport fishing for exotic species such as Piara, Arapaima, Peacock Bass, Himara and Black and Red-bellied Piranha. The Maipaima Eco-Lodge at Nappi is the only one in Guyana’s Kanuku Mountains, offering great access to a mountain range that CI declared one of the most pristine remaining Amazonian habitats.
Guyana’s name may still be rising within ecotourism, but the time to visit is now. The rainforests are pristine and the biodiversity primordial, making a visit akin to stepping back in time to an undiscovered bastion of nature, wildlife, and preserved Amerindian cultures. What Guyana offers is a rare natural adventure, the awe of which can be life changing.
Guyana’s Rainforests in the News
In 2007, Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, offered to protect most of the country’s standing tropical rainforest as carbon offsets. This was no small offer and its value to the world is just now being realized. Over the past two years, as world leaders and scientists grappled with his offer, Jagdeo was making refinements.
He aligned Guyana with the U.N. Framework Convention for Climate Change, which is set to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, and its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program. Deforestation is responsible for releasing nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than the world’s entire transportation sector – and REDD seeks to drastically reduce this number.
In February 2009, Norway agreed to cooperate with Guyana on forest issues, particularly in negotiating with international bodies and securing financial compensation that will allow Guyana to preserve its forests and create low-carbon employment and investment opportunities. With this new support and focus, Jagdeo launched Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) in June 2009. Through several sustainable economic development components, the LCDS seeks to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global warming by protecting Guyana’s rainforests, while creating a model green economy for rainforest-rich developing countries. Expect to hear more from Guyana as a new climate protocol is worked out at the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.
ATTA and Guyana
Guyana is looking to network and partner with the ATTA community to help promote the country’s tour operators, lodges, Amerindian communities, and sustainable tourism products. We’re pleased that ATTA members currently selling trips to Guyana include Cox & Kings, Geographic Expeditions, Journeys International, Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions, and we look forward to adding new companies to the list.
Representatives from the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI) – a joint project of the Guyana Tourism Authority and the United States Agency for International Development / Guyana Trade and Investment Support (USAID/GTIS) project – will be attending the 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit to promote tourism in Guyana. Please visit us at our Marketplace booth and learn more about Guyana at the Sustainable Tourism in Emerging Destinations session of the Collaborative Learning component of ATWS (on day four), where GSTI Director Judy Karwacki, also of Small Planet Consulting, will present a case study.
Learn More About Guyana
The following links will help you learn more about Guyana:
www.guyanabirding.com (Basic travel information, itineraries, newsletters, press releases, articles, list of tour operators)
www.guyana-tourism.com (Guyana Tourism Authority)
www.wilderness-explorers.com (Guyana-based in-bound tour operator)
www.bushmasters.co.uk (Adventure travel specialist in Guyana: Jungle survival, 4×4, cowboy, horseback, and safari trips)
www.rupununitrail.com) (Tour company based at Dadanawa Ranch running legendary remote fishing and backcountry trips)
www.bradt-travelguides.com/details.asp?prodid=178 (Guyana’s only dedicated guidebook)
ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours Teams with Bicycles for Humanity-Colorado
October 12, 2009
Partnership Aims to Provide Bikes – and Much Needed Mobility – to Rural Africans
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — September 28, 2009. — In Africa, girls are 70 percent more likely to attend school if their family owns a bike. Healthcare workers can visit up to four times as many patients if they have a bike and people with bikes can travel five times as fast as they can on foot. Poor transportation means poor access to healthcare, economic and education opportunities. Simply put: bicycles can change a life.
Bicycles for Humanity-Colorado (B4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization solving the lack of mobility which is a leading impediment to development and access to critical healthcare services. By providing donated used bicycles to rural African healthcare professionals, B4H dramatically increases the volume and breadth of healthcare services.
Based in Colorado, Bicycles for Humanity has distributed more than 800 used bikes in Namibia. And now, with new partner ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours, Bicycles for Humanity hopes to make a difference in the lives of even more Africans.
“We’re delighted to partner with ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours given their bicycling focus and global mindset,” said Joshua Pace, president of Bicycles for Humanity Colorado. “Together we can provide the gift of mobility to hundreds of rural Namibians over the coming year.”
ExperiencePlus! is lending a hand in a few ways. First, the company will donate $100 to the cause for every person who books the epic, 45-day Eastern European trek from St. Petersburg to Istanbul. Secondly, the tour operator is allowing clients to choose to donate $10 to the cause instead of receiving an ExperiencePlus! gift.
“We’re excited to support a local, yet global reaching non-profit which is also bike related,” said Maria Elena Price, co-owner of ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours. Price and her sister and fellow co-owner, Monica Price, have both studied, traveled and bicycled throughout the world and strongly believe in the value of increasing mobility and exposure beyond ones borders.
The combined proceeds are expected to raise between $1,500 and $2,000 for Bicycles for Humanity-Colorado.
“These funds will help us open our third Namibian community bike shop in the rural town of Katima, Donated bikes enable healthcare workers to travel deeper into the bush delivering critical medications on a consistent basis,” said Pace. Located 1,000 kilometers from the capital Windhoek, Katima is a remote town with limited healthcare facilities and high HIV infection rates.
About ExperiencePlus!
Bicycle tour specialist ExperiencePlus!, a leader in international tourism, has been family-owned since 1972. The first U.S. based tour operator to offer bicycle tours in Italy, ExperiencePlus! has expanded to include tours in over 15 countries, blending true cycling expertise with innovative routes and off-the-beaten-path immersion. For details and tour departures/itineraries, please visit www.ExperiencePlus.com or www.BikeRentalsPlus.com.
About Bicycles for Humanity-Colorado
Bicycles for Humanity-Colorado (B4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses 100 percent of proceeds to address a fundamental barrier to African development – mobility. Poor transport systems mean poor access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. B4H delivers donated bicycles through community based bike shops to provide sustainable mobility solutions for rural Africans. To learn more about how you can help make a difference, visit www.b4hcolorado.org.
Thomson promotes adventurous new Kilimanjaro route
October 12, 2009
Boston, Mass. — Trekkers eager to take the less traveled path up Mount Kilimanjaro can now climb an adventurous new route offered by Thomson Safaris (http://www.thomsontreks.com).
Winding through Kilimanjaro’s remote wilds over 10 days, the Grand Traverse ventures over an exclusive path that gradually winds up the mountain’s northern reaches. Trekkers will have outstanding views of the famed wildlife-filled plains that span Tanzania and Kenya and more time to explore the mountain’s towers, caves, and glaciers. A gradual terrain also allows for maximum acclimatization and the best opportunity for a successful summit.
“The Grand Traverse is the ULTIMATE way to experience Kilimanjaro,” exclaims Katie Cordes, Thomson’s Kilimanjaro manager. “You will be awed by the breathtaking viewsalong this remote and exclusive route, with more time to acclimatize and to enjoy the mountain’s diverse wilderness and habitats.”
Beginning at Londorossi Gate, the Traverse takes the wild, scenic route up Kilimanjaro, as it crosses the Shira Plateau and then coils around the mountain’s remote north face. You can explore Kilimanjaro’s little-known wonders, such as a volcanic tower called the Shark’s Tooth as well as its mysterious grottos and caves. As a stunning climax, you will trek to the summit in the afternoon when few if any other groups stand atop Uhuru Peak.
Overnighting in Thomson’s unparalleled mountain camps, you’ll even experience one adventurous night inside Kilimanjaro’s dormant volcanic crater. You will enjoy upgraded accommodations at the eco-friendly Ndarakwai Ranch before your trek and Gibb’s Farm near the Ngorongoro Crater during the recommended wildlife safari extension.
While “slowly, slowly” is the motto for climbing Kilimanjaro, trekkers need to act fast to join the Grand Traverse. With limited departures scheduled in 2010-11, trip dates are rapidly filling up.
“Some nights you will feel like you are the only ones on Kilimanjaro,” said Cordes. “It is the most spectacular way to experience Africa’s greatest mountain.”
Grand Traverse Departure Dates
2010: July 14, September 17, and September 21
2011: January 19 and February 5
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