In the months leading up to the 2011 Adventure Travel World Summit, the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s President Shannon Stowell is slated to participate and speak at a variety of industry events to continue to promote key industry causes while strengthening the Association’s global ties and developing new partnerships between industries.
Stowell returned June 8th from Austin, Texas, where he delivered – in support of the Mexico Tourism Board – to Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Department of Public Safety, a joint message from the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the National Tour Association (NTA), and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA): downgrade Texas’ travel warning to Mexico to an advisory and be more focused on the communication of where tourists shouldn’t travel.
Toward the end of June, as part of ATTA’s ongoing commitment to leadership in sustainable travel, Stowell also will be attending the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Board of Directors and general membership meetings in Barcelona, Spain. He joined the GSTC Board of Directors in 2010 and has been active with the organization since 2009.
In August, he will be briefing outdoor manufacturers and retailers in plenary at Outdoor Retailer (OR) Summer Market, a trade-only event attracting more than 22,000 human-powered outdoor recreation professionals. Shannon’s talk at OR:
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The ATTA’s mission in speaking at OR is to convey the energy the adventure travel market carries with it and the vast array of collaborative opportunities which exist between the adventure and outdoor recreation industries. The ATTA team also will be on hand to assist with the Adventure HUB, a concept piloted by ATTA last year at OR which provides a dynamic meeting space for members of the adventure tourism and outdoor gear industries, and will feature hand-picked destination partners.
Later that month, Stowell will be speaking in Los Angeles, California, at the Nature and Adventure Workshop, August 25-26th, where he will speak to 28 of Australia's best operators about adventure travel trends.
ATTA’s presence at the workshop appearance is a priority as the organization continues to make strategic inroads into Australia and the Oceanic region as part of its sustained efforts to build a global body of adventure travel professionals. According to Stowell, such outreach enables growth in international cooperation and pursuit of best practices. Prior to this workshop, the ATTA already welcomes four new Australian State Tourism Boards as members: South Australia Tourism Commission, Tourism NewSouth Wales, Tourism Queensland, and Tourism Victoria.
In mid September, just a month before the 2011 Adventure Travel World Summit, where Stowell will lead the 600-member delegation, Stowell will head to Florianopolis, Brazil, for TravelMart Latin America, where he will meet with and continue building ties with South and Central American tour operators. He then attends the Brazilian Ecotourism and Adventure Summit (ABETA) in Sao Paulo, where he will be moderating, speaking and managing a contingent of buyers and speakers from the U.S.
“It’s a heavy travel schedule, but I sense the global adventure tourism community is gaining in influence and stature in the broader context of leisure tourism,” said Stowell. “Our community must continue to lean in to be heard, to be able to affect positive change and continue to responsibly grow our sector.”The ATTA’s Summit will be held in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico, from October 17-20, 2011 and includes Featured Speakers such as Leilani Latimer of Sabre Holdings, Bruce Poon Tip of GAP Adventures, Tensie Whelan, President of the Rainforest Alliance, and former U.S. Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. To learn more about the Summit agenda, please visit http://www.adventuretravel.biz/connect/summit/
Stowell’s late fall plans also include World Travel Mart (London) in November, followed immediately by PURE in Morocco.