Media Buzz
Get Set for This Year’s Adventure Travel Film Festival
May 25, 2011
The following information is published here from Wanderlust. Escape the confines of a dark, dingy cinema this summer and travel to Devon for an alternative, thrill-seeking movie-watching experience The Adventure Travel Film Festival will be screening some of the finest travel films this June against the picturesque backdrop of Appledore, Devon. Curated by film-maker Austin Vince and travel author Lois Pryce, the festival will host a weekend of camping, outdoor activities and inspirational travel cinema. Spanning the last 70 years, the films screening at the festival cover every continent and all modes of transport, from buses to canoes. Amongst them is the 1958 Oxford and Cambridge expedition to Singapore First Overland and, more recently, The Yenisey River, which documents the endeavours of Colin Angus’ watery adventure through Mongolia and Siberia. Festival goers are encouraged to make the most of their glorious surroundings with optional organised activities and courses... Read More →
Media Buzz
A New Addition to the Mankin “Family”
May 13, 2011
Assistant Editor’s Note: Don Mankin is a long-time friend of the ATTA and his new endeavors may prove quite interesting to ATTA Members serving Baby Boomers. Author Don Mankin Dear Friends, No, not a baby, nor even a dog or cat, but a new outlet for my stories of adventure and occasional indolence. As of today I will be the regular travel writer for the new publication, Vibrant Living, to be published every other month in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. My first article, which can be found athttp://www.vibrantlivingmagazine.com/Vibrant-Living-Magazine-May-June-2011/#?page=40 and on subsequent pages, is a slightly longer version of the “Last Frontier of Costa Rica” article published in Active Over 50 a couple of months ago. If you did not get a chance to read it then, you have another chance, and if you have already read it, there are a few additional photos that did not appear with the earlier article. You will note the reappearance of the unmistakeable photo of me... Read More →
Media Buzz
National Geographic Traveler selects the 2011 Tours of a Lifetime
April 20, 2011
Washington, D.C. — Track white “spirit” bears in British Columbia. Saddle up for the Inca Trail in Peru. Hike and make pasta in Italy. Take the kids to Vietnam. Visit Civil War battlefields in the Mid-Atlantic. These are just some of the 50 guided tours selected by National Geographic Traveler in its sixth annual “Tours of a Lifetime” list featured in the magazine’s May/June 2011 issue. The editorial team combed the world to find the most authentic, most innovative, most immersive, best-guided, and most sustainable tours. “The outfitters we selected continue to find new ways for travelers to connect with places and people,” notes senior editor Norie Quintos, who headed up the project. “More and more, it’s about human interaction.” Part of that human interaction is the guide. This year the magazine also highlighted 10 great guides who exemplify the new model of guiding. “Where once they were walking encyclopedias, today’s great guides are often a little like life... Read More →
Media Buzz
Travel Deals Abound on Social Media Sites
March 30, 2011
The following excerpts are part of a longer article, Travel deals abound on social-media sites, published on The Arizona Republic. PhoCusWright’s Quinby said the sales and marketing trend is in its infancy. The deals aren’t tailored enough to broadly change the way travel is booked. “It’s very much spray and pray,” he said. Another obstacle: Many people don’t want to wade through a pile of e-mail offers to save a few bucks on a vacation. “There’s enormous potential, but enormous unrealized potential,” he said. Quinby predicts the day when people receive personalized offers from online travel agencies, local-deals providers, social-media sites and others that team up to send deals to travelers based on their booked itineraries. People who check in at an airport on Facebook or FourSquare, for example, might receive an offer for the airport bar if they are headed for a vacation or a Starbucks special if they have an early flight... Read More →
Media Buzz Members "In the News"
ARCHAEOLOGY Magazine to Launch Digital Edition
March 29, 2011
ARCHAEOLOGY magazine announced it will soon launch a digital edition of its print edition. According to Archaeology, this will reduce the organization’s carbon footprints (e.g., less paper and ink), allow them to more cost effectively reach foreign readers, allow for instant access and provide a unique and interactive experience that will include hyperlinked and audio / visual content. The digital issue will have searchable editorial archives and interactive links to advertisers. Advertisers will continue to receive checking copies via the print version. ARCHAEOLOGY will begin substituting complimentary subscriptions for the digital version for the July / August issue. Readers can opt to continue to receive the print version instead by emailing Karina Casines by April 25th at Karina@archaeology.org. Read More →
Media Buzz
Former Cruise West Chairman Pitches New Cruise Concept
March 28, 2011
Dick West, the chairman of the now defunct Cruise West, a family-owned Alaska cruise line which closed its doors after over four decades last September, has re-emerged publicly for the first time since his Travel Weekly interview in which he expressed shame and heartbreak over the brand’s recession-fueled demise. The subject of USA Today article (excerpted below), West is now pitching a “new concept” for the cruise industry. West said the company, called Explorer Cruises, would not own any ships, but would host cruises on chartered vessels and tailor them to the adventure travel market, and give them Cruise West’s “up close and personal” style. He explained that the cruises would operate the way Cruise West offered sailings in the Galapagos and the Danube River, where it chartered ships for short cruise seasons. West plans to market the early concept to past Cruise West customers and through the Cruise West Facebook fan pages, and said that he will be... Read More →
Media Buzz
Is the ‘ugly American’ label fading?
March 15, 2011
Assistant Editor’s Note: The following excerpt is from an article by A. Pawlowski published on CNN travel. Over the years, many U.S. travelers have worried about what kind of welcome they might receive when they leave home — whether because U.S. culture and foreign policy are disliked in some parts of the world or because of the stereotype that brands U.S. visitors as loud, demanding, too casually dressed and unversed in local culture. Valid or not, the “ugly American” label has stuck in many countries where U.S. tourists flock. But things may be changing. Read the entire trends piece, Is the ‘ugly America’ label fading? on CNN.com Read More →
Media Buzz
A Growing Role for Tourism in Sustainable Development
March 15, 2011
The following excerpt is from an article published on DailyFinance, by Tonya Mohn, on the increasingly visible role tourism plays in sustainable development: Think of environmentally friendly businesses, and you probably think of things like solar power, green building and recycling. But according to a report released last week by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), one of the most promising green industries — at least when it comes to creating economic growth, reducing poverty, fueling job creation and addressing major environmental challenges — turns out to be sustainable tourism. It’s an interesting conclusion because tourism isn’t generally considered green. But the U.N. report, titled “Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication,” finds that investing in sustainable tourism could play a big role in creating a green economy. The findings of the report — which includes contributions from the... Read More →
Media Buzz Members "In the News"
ATTA Members Featured Prominently in Outside Magazine’s 2011 Trips of the Year and Travel Hot List
March 11, 2011
by Alice Gifford, ATTA Member Advocate Seattle, WA – Outside Magazine’s March 2011 issue includes a selection of 80 Tour Operators between the “Trips of the Year” feature and the annual “Travel Hot List,” more than half of which are current Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) members. Fulfilling one of its primary functions, to promote the global adventure travel industry and tackle initiatives that get adventure travel in front of mainstream culture, ATTA drives journalists and other media directly to its members through an email alert system. After an alert delivered in October 2010, member tour operators had ample time to submit nominations for their most exciting new adventures. “We love the ATTA journal alerts because they really spur us into action on a regular basis,” says Sandy Cunningham, Founder of New Mexico-based Uncharted Outposts, selected for a SCUBA-diving trip during South Africa’s famous sardine-run. Most of the featured operators had one-on-one... Read More →
Media Buzz
15th Annual Webby Awards Seeking Year’s Best Travel and Tourism Websites
September 16, 2010
Call for Entries Kicks-Off September 14, 2010 New York, NY– The Webby Awards is seeking entries for the year’s Best Travel and Tourism Websites. From September 14 to December 17, 2010, The 15th Annual Webby Awards will accept entries for the Best Travel Site of the year at www.webbyawards.com. I Wanna Go There took home the top Travel prize and Snapshots of Provence won Best Tourism Site at the 14th Annual Webby Awards on June 14, 2010. The early entry deadline is October 29, 2010. “The travel industry is doing some of the most interesting and innovative work on the Internet today,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of the Webby Awards. “The Webby Awards is an exciting opportunity for travel and tourism leaders to be recognized alongside Internet luminaries.” The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile Web and applications. The 14th Annual... Read More →
