Increased Global Participation Anticipated, 2nd Year Agenda Aimed at Bottom Line, Strategic Partnering
(February 8, 2006) – SEATTLE – The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) today announced that it will host the second annual Adventure Travel World Summit in Seattle on October 19, 20 and 21, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Elliot Bay.
Typically considered a “fragmented” industry, the 2005 Summit was viewed as a harbinger of a more cohesive and productive adventure travel community. The recent 2005 Summit drove volumes of unsolicited executive level feedback. Many of the industry’s veteran leaders called the ATTA’s first Summit, “epic,” “long overdue,” “a triumph against all odds,” “well worth the time and investment,” and “crisp, focused, engaging and relevant.”
For the 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit, the ATTA expects to attract more global representation and participation, to create more effective networking venues, and to deliver more practical sessions for businesses and organizations engaged in adventure travel. Building upon the 2005 Summit, which called upon the industry to co-create its future vision, the 2006 Summit will delve into the more practical elements of business strategy/planning, marketing, technology and operations that can help to favorably improve organizations’ bottom lines.
More than 300 executives who attended the inaugural Adventure Travel World Summit overwhelmingly named Seattle the number one preferred “world class” site for the 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit. Additionally, in post-Summit participant surveys, more than 90 percent of respondents ranked the 2005 Summit “Excellent.”
“Participants claimed last year’s Summit was among the liveliest conferences the adventure travel community had ever experienced,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “As a ‘community,’ we’ve just begun to tap into potential of the adventure travel market. For 2006, we’ll continue to evolve our vision, but with heavy concentration on those elements that lead to positive, sustainable bottom line results – for our industry as a whole, for businesses, for travelers, and for the people, cultures and natural environments visited around the globe.”
The Adventure Travel World Summit provides a global networking platform for a diverse array of executives and decision makers who gather to collaborate on matters of mutual interest and concern, and around which the entire adventure travel industry revolves. Attendees include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, transportation companies (air, auto, etc.), and travel agencies. Adventure travel agents, lodges, resorts, attractions, and travel-oriented gear manufacturers also will participate along with media, travel, marketing and technology service organizations, academic institutions, research enterprises, tourism and recreational governmental agencies.
Leaders and experts from within the adventure travel and related industries are scheduled to present to industry executives and decision makers during the three-day Summit. The first day of the 2006 Summit will again offer a full day of adventure activities, which in 2005 proved to be among the most popular and creative networking venues. The second and third days will offer interspersed periods of structured networking adjacent to in-depth sessions, interactive workshops and roundtable discussions concerning research and trends, marketing, partnering, operations, standards, risk management and responsible adventure tourism.
To ensure the quality and effectiveness of the Summit experience, attendance is limited to 400 participants and is expected to sell out. Online registration is accessible atwww.adventuretravelworldsummit.com. Adventure Travel World Summit prices will remain unchanged for 2006. “Early-bird” registration is $650.00 (U.S.) for ATTA Members, $850.00 for non-members. Early-bird registration expires May 5, 2006. Beginning May 6, 2006, registration fees are $750.00 for ATTA Members and $950.00 for non-members. Registration fees include all sessions, meetings, conference materials, receptions, entertainment and meals.
Initial sponsors of the Adventure Travel World Summit include National Geographic Adventure Magazine, ExOfficio, Eagle Creek and Veramonte Wines. New sponsorship proposals are currently being reviewed by the ATTA.
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market worldwide. ATTA Members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, travel agents/agencies, guides, lodges/resorts/attractions, media, and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit, the ATTA provides professional support, development, education, research, marketing, career building, networking and cost-saving resources to its members.
*Conference venue, dates, speakers, sessions and events are subject to change.