_HPFeature
Chiapas is Ready for the 2011 Adventure Travel World Summit
October 13, 2011
Lorenzo Campos Maurer, Katyna de la Vega, Rodolfo López Negrete, Antonio del Rosal. More than 650 tourism industry professionals, from 54 countries, will be gathering in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas for the 2011 Adventure Travel World Summit. In a press conference with the Federal and Chiapas State Government, Mexico announced that everything is ready for the country to host its biggest international tourism event of the year. Rodolfo López Negrete, Director of Consejo de Promoción Turística de México, said that hosting this event is key to increase tourist arrivals to Mexico because “in all the previous hosting cities, the Summit has been a watershed for local tourism industry, and we can assure that Mexico will have the same impact and success.” Chiapas offers solid important tourism infrastructure, with 794 hotels (17,293 rooms) and 1,242 restaurants. Katyna de la Vega, Director of the Commission for the Development of Alternative Tourism in Chiapas, declared... Read More →
Adventure Travel World Summit
Lucerne, Switzerland Announced as the 2012 ATWS Location at Concurrent Press Events in North America
September 28, 2011
Chris Doyle presents to San Francicso media about the ATTA and ATWS. The Adventure Travel Trade Association today made two nearly simultaneous announcements yesterday revealing Lucerne, Switzerland to be the host of the 2012 Adventure Travel World Summit. The first was delivered by ATTA Vice President Chris Doyle at a press event in San Francisco, presented by Swiss Tourism and its regional partners, and attended by local consumer media. Shortly after, President Shannon Stowell also announced the winning bid at the Future of Tourism event in Toronto, held by ATTA member GAP Adventures, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and Planeterra.org, in honor of World Tourism Day. President Shannon Stowell accepts a Swiss cow bell at the announcement in Toronto. The Future of Tourism event featured industry expert panelists across a range of sustainable tourism topics, in an effort to initiate increased visibility and conversation globally around... Read More →
ATTA "In the News"
ATTA and Members Featured in TIME Magazine Piece
September 16, 2011
The ATTA, along with members Cruceros Australis, Andean Treks and Go South Adventures, were featured in a recent TIME Magazine article on how climate change is changing travel itineraries and even creating new opportunities: The Adventure Travel Trade Association, which offers resources to tourists, points out that even those who aren’t super physically fit are doing springtime hikes in Greenland and eastern Tibet on mountain trails that had been covered in snow until summer. New trails are opening up in South America. “Due to the rapid glacial recession in the high Andes of southern Peru, we are now doing treks over 17,000-ft. [5,000 m] passes on routes which until five years ago were snowfield,” says Peter Robertson, president of Andean Treks, an operator based in Watertown, Mass. The article also covered the negative aspects of climate change and how they impact the travel industry. Access the digital version on TIME, entitled Go with the floe Read More →
ATTA "In the News"
The Adventure Travel Development Index is Used in Forbes Travel Article
September 8, 2011
The Adventure Travel Development Index was the basis for a recent Forbes article, a lifestyle piece called Top 10 Adventure Travel Destinations You Didn’t Know About, by Andrew Bender: Where to go on your next trip? So many choices, no? Well, the Adventure Travel Trade Association is out with its newest survey of adventure travel destinations. Some of them, particularly in the developing world, may surprise you. The Adventure Travel Development Index (ATDI) defines adventure travel as interaction with nature, interaction with culture and a physical activity at least two and preferably all three in the same trip. Researchers polled over 315 tour operators, travel writers, assorted tourism officials and hospitality industry experts and ranked countries on 10 factors including sustainable development, safety and security, health, natural resources, cultural resources and infrastructure. The growing consumer recognition of adventure travel, and of the ATTA as an industry leader, is reflected... Read More →
ATWS Press Releases
Adventure Travel Trade Association Launches “Changing the World” Video Contest
August 29, 2011
Winning Video to Premier at the ATTA’s October 2011 World Summit photo: Eduardo Doig of Viajes Pacifico Seattle, WA.—The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) today announced its first ever video-contest, exclusively for the more than 600 Adventure Travel World Summit delegates expected for the October 17-21, 2011 Summit in Chiapas, Mexico, a sold-out executive conference themed, “Prosper with Purpose”. The winner of the 60 second video – selected through private voting by Summit Delegates – who best conveys how his/her business is changing the world for good through adventure travel experiences will be announced and earn a seat next to Bill Richardson at the event’s closing dinner after his keynote address on Oct. 21st, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Richardson, a former U.S. Congressman, Secretary of Energy, Ambassador to the United Nations, Governor of New Mexico and U.S. Presidential candidate will speak (in English and Spanish) on peacekeeping through tourism.... Read More →
ATTA Press Releases
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2011: ATTA’s Report on the Adventure Travel HUB
August 15, 2011
Productive partnership meetings took place at the Adventure Travel Hub. The Adventure Travel Hub, brought to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market by the Adventure Travel Trade Association for the second consecutive year, was the confluence for more than 35 meetings between outdoor gear and apparel brands with the world-class adventure tourism destinations of Norway, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mexico and Belize. The meetings, cultivated by ATTA through its extensive network, were designed to help foster creative partnerships and innovative marketing promotions between the adventure travel industry and the outdoor industry, whose overlapping interests and areas of expertise make for rich, synergistic outreach and branding initiatives. ATTA also fostered meetings with the destinations with over a dozen top media executives to introduce and foster new editorial content in publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Audubon and many more. Doyle and Stowell present on Tapping into... Read More →
ATTA EventsUpcoming Webinars :: August – September 2011
August 14, 2011
Based on feedback from ATTA members, current industry trends and development needs, the ATTA presents the following calendar of ATTA Tune In Webinars for August through September, 2011 exclusively for ATTA members (except where noted for sustainable tourism matters, in which case, the Webinars are open and free to the entire industry). Interested in the ATTA’s Webinars but not a Member yet? Learn more and sign up today: click here. ATTA MEMBERS ONLY WEBINAR Tablets as a Marketing Tool – What makes sense for your business? THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2011 – 10:00 AM PDT Jordan Stolper John Rasmus At the end of 2011 there’ll be nearly 40 million iPads in use. The tablet will forever change the way people interact with content and shop online. For adventure travel operators, the iPad (and tablet platforms) promises to be an invaluable marketing and communications tool. But where to start? This webinar will make sense of the rapidly changing tablet landscape. We’ll take... Read More →
ATTA "In the News"The Independent Covers the 2010 Adventure Travel Development Index (ATDI)
August 2, 2011
On Monday, August 1st, The Independent, a leading national newspaper published in London, published a story covering the findings of the 2010 Adventure Travel Development Index (ATDI), conducted by the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the George Washington University and Vital Wave Consulting. Switzerland has topped an annual ranking of adventure tourism destinations by the Adventure Travel Trade Association - but if you’re looking for something a little less traditional, Israel or the Slovak Republic could be the best bets. The 3rd annual Adventure Travel Development Index (ADTI) ranked 195 countries, giving a score to each one signifying its potential for adventure tourism based on ten factors including infrastructure, safety, sustainability policies, natural resources and adventure activity resources. Read the entire article. Download the PDF. Read More →
ATTA "In the News"U.S. Travel Warnings, regarding Particular Areas in Mexico, Must be in Proper Context: by Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete and Shannon Stowell
August 2, 2011
Assistant Editor’s Note: The following op-ed piece was written by ATTA President Shannon Stowell and CEO of the Mexican Tourism Board, Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, was published today in the Dallas Morning News, El Paso Times, Austin Statesman, Baja Insider, Mexi Data. There were no fireworks in Nuevo Laredo over the July 4th long weekend – of any kind. In the lead up to America’s Independence Day, the Texas Department of Public Safety published a travel warning encouraging Texans to avoid travel to the Mexican border town which is but a stone’s throw away from the cities of San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The reason: “credible intelligence” indicating that the Zetas Cartel was planning attacks on U.S. citizens. This travel warning is significant and marks a very constructive trend with regard to the dissemination of information to the traveling public. This is not the first travel warning the Texas Government has issued with regard to travel to Mexico and no doubt it will... Read More →
ATTA Press Releases
Study Reveals that Israel, Slovak Republic, and Chile Are Among Countries with Highest Adventure Tourism Potential
July 28, 2011
3rd Annual Adventure Travel Development Index Ranks Adventure Tourism in Developed and Emerging Markets WASHINGTON, D.C. – A study published by George Washington University, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and Vital Wave Consulting revealed that Israel, the Slovak Republic and Chile were among the top adventure tourism destinations for 2010. The Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI), now in its third year, offers a ranking of countries around the world based on principles of sustainable adventure tourism and is calculated through a combination of expert survey data and quantitative data gathered from international indices. To view this study, visit this link: http://www.adventureindex.travel/downloads.htm. “When we first developed the technical method for scoring countries in 2008, we didn’t know how it would be received,” said Kristin Lamoureux, visiting assistant professor of tourism and hospitality management. “Three years later, countries are using the... Read More →
