World Nomad’s Safety Hub Delivers Advice to Travelers in Chile
March 1, 2010
Chile earthquakes: advice for travelers
Just before dawn on Saturday 27th February, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile. The epicenter was situated in the Maule region, 300km south of the capital, Santiago.
So far, over 700 deaths have been recorded with fears that this will rise significantly over the coming days. The Earthquake sent waves of more than two metres crashing into the coastline as well as into outlying pacific islands, sparking Tsunami alerts as far as New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Chilean government agencies and forces are currently working around the clock to restore electricity, supply emergency medical assistance and assess what other support is required before requesting international aid.
WorldNomads.com offeres travel safety and advice to help those in the affected areas stay informed. Click here for such information and for insights on how your operation/destination can help travelers stay informed in the aftermath of crises.
According to CNN: “Bill for U.S. travel promotion organization headed to president’s desk”
February 26, 2010
(CNN) — A bill that will create a tourism promotion organization for the United States received its final passage in the Senate on Thursday. Read full story.
National Geographic Channel Premieres “Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets”, Sure to Inspire
February 25, 2010
The National Geographic Channel has just premiered a new documentary, Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets, from Edge West Productions, directed by celebrated British documentarian Philip J. Day. This in-depth doc comes at a perfect time, giving an American audience an exciting view of the history and mysteries of Peru beyond Machu Picchu. Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets will certainly inspire its audience to visit Peru to see the lines in-person and to experience the county on the whole. The show premiered in the USA on Sunday, but will be re-airing a number of times over the next few weeks.
- 2/25, 7 PM EST
- 2/25, 10 PM EST
- 2/28, 12 PM EST
- 3/4, 3 PM EST
* Editor’s Note: In 2005, I had the good fortune to visit the Nasca lines from the ground, and from above in the seat of a 6 passenger Cessna, and was simply mesmerized, realizing a childhood dream to visit the mysterious lines drawings on the face of the earth. It’s this very location and that very trip that inspired ATTA efforts to collaborate with Archaeology and the Archaeological Institute of America to co-develop: “A Guide to Best Practices for Archaeological Tourism” (from this site, industry professionals may download the free guidelines. The alert about this documentary arrived from Willy Blackmore’s thoughtful letter below, otherwise, as an individual who does not own a television, I may have missed this one!
“Hello – As you well know, the recent flooding in Peru has caused huge amounts of damage to local populations, destroying houses and infrastructure. And in addition to the personal losses of Peruvians affected by the torrential rains, there is the economic damage to communities caused by a loss in tourism due to Machu Picchu’s temporary closure. Peru is, of course, much more than just this one ancient ruin which is so well known throughout the world and the government has been pointing to other cultural treasures found in the country, such as the Nasca Lines, as lesser-known but equally as interesting tourism destinations. The monumental lines etched in the desert have long mystified and fascinated visitors, giving rise to theories of alien influence and lending inspiration to contemporary artists working with nature as a medium.
This Sunday at 10 PM EST, the National Geographic Channel will be premiering a new documentary, Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets, from Edge West Productions, directed by celebrated British documentarian Philip J. Day. This in-depth doc comes at a perfect time, giving an American audience an exciting view of the history and mysteries of Peru beyond Machu Picchu. Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets will certainly inspire its audience to visit Peru to see the lines in-person and to experience the county on the whole.
Would you be interested in writing something about the premiere of the Nasca Lines: Buried Secrets in additional to your coverage of the flooding? If so, please let me know—I can send you a link to the trailer and more information about the documentary and Edge West Productions.
Best,
Willy Blackmore – SocialRadius / Terpin Communications”
News Update – Feb. 25, 2010, In a tragic development, according to CNN today:
“(CNN) — Seven people, mostly tourists, were killed Thursday when a small plane crashed in southern Peru, near the famous Nazca Lines, the official Andina news agency reported, citing Nazca police.” Read more.
Adventure Tourism Development Index 2009 Report
February 16, 2010
A joint initiative of The George Washington University, the Adventure Travel Trade Association and Xola Consulting, the Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI) ranks 192 countries based for their adventure travel competitiveness.
The 2009 ATDI Report, in three parts, is available below at no charge.
The methodology relies on hard data and expert surveys to asses countries in 10 pillars:
- Sustainable Development
- Health
- Safety
- Security
- Cultural Resources
- Natural Resources
- Adventure Activity Resources
- Infrastructure
- Entrepreneurship
- Image
The top three developing countries this year were the Slovak Republic, Israel and the Czech Republic. The top three developed countries were Iceland, Switzerland and New Zealand.
- Download full report: Click here.
- Download the pillar scores for developing countries: Click here.
- Download the pillar scores for developed countries: Click here.
Survey and other research data gathered to generate the ATDI rankings can be customized for a fee. Xola Consulting can create reports to help inform and support country adventure development and marketing objectives. Contact Xola for more information on custom reports.
10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010, from Mass Mingling to Maturialism
January 20, 2010
Editor’s Note: The following consumer trends for 2010 are directly sourced from trendwatching.com, an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. One of my favorite trend-watching Web sites, it relies on trend-forward “Spotters” around the world who report to the creators of the site, which is the brainchild of Reinier Evers…it’s different, it’s fresh, it’s fun, and draws upon a worldwide network of analysts and spotters from its London and Amsterdam offices. Each of their newsletters offers some compelling perspective that gives pause for new thought…
Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss. More »
Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world. More »
Whatever it is you’re selling or launching this year, it will be reviewed ‘en masse’, live, 24/7. More »
Closely tied to what constitutes status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months. More »
Online lifestyles are fueling and encouraging ‘real world’ meet-ups like there’s no tomorrow, shattering all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future. More »
To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals this year, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it ‘easy’ for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives. More »
Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control. More »
This year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers. More »
With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 is a good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services. More »
2010 will be even more opinionated, risqué, outspoken, if not ‘raw’ than 2009; you can thank the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring? More »
Disaster Relief Options for Haiti Following Devastating Quake
January 13, 2010
Update: President Barak Obama has just issued an email (12:39PM Pacific, Jan. 13, 2010) appeal concerning Haiti, and is using the White House Blog, Help for Haiti, to communicate ways in which you may assist Haitian relief efforts. Below are other organizations you may wish to support for the natural disaster in Haiti or for other crises worldwide.
Disaster Relief
Help those affected by natural disasters. The following organizations provide financial and/or in-kind assistance to those in need:
URGENT UPDATE:
International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies: www.redcross.org
800.HELP.NOW
World Vision: www.worldvision.org
888.511.6548
AmeriCares: www.americares.org or
800.486.4357
Doctors Without Borders: www.doctorswithoutborders.org
888.392.0392
Mercy Corps: www.mercycorps.org
888.256.1900
Oxfam of the U.K.: www.oxfam.co.uk
011.44.870.333.2700
Save the Children Federation: www.savethechildren.org
800.728.3843
From Entrepreneur.com: 10 Online Marketing Trends for 2010
January 9, 2010
“…Since your trend-marketing returns are only as good as your ability to make educated guesses, here’s some advice to help you avoid turning educated guesses into marketing messes. The following list features the top 10 internet marketing trends for 2010, in no particular order, and tells you whether to invest, test or let it rest…
Internet marketing trends develop quickly, so expect many new and exciting trends to emerge in 2010. Don’t be too quick to jump on new bandwagons because consumers move more slowly than marketers and technology. Stay focused on attracting repeat business, deepening your customer relationships and solving problems for people. Those are the trends that never fail small businesses.”
Read John Arnold’s full trends piece.
Book Review: Along the River that Flows Uphill
January 9, 2010
Along the River that Flows Uphill – From the Orinoco to the Amazon recounts the journey that two authors, Richard Starks and Miriam Murcutt, took along a remote and strange river in Venezuela called the Casiquiare. At the same time, it examines the risk that is inherent in all adventure travel.
A thoughtful, quick read, Along the River gets is recommended by this reviewer for adventure travel trade professionals, as well as for hearty travelers considering getting a bit further off the beaten path.
By Richard Starks and Miriam Murcutt, Haus Publishing, October 2009 (Amazon)
Chris Doyle, AdventureTravelNews Editor Review:
Along the River that Flows Uphill is a sometimes travel-log, sometimes lesson-based story which captured my interest through its matter-of-fact, vivid storytelling, intriguing metaphysical diversions and beguiling questions about the risks of adventure travel.
Richard and Miriam’s first-hand account of their adventures in Venezuela and Columbia – an area of the world where my knowledge of the landscapes, peoples and Euro-invasive history was lacking – has given me a renewed interest in the Orinoco and Amazon basins. I aim to further explore their book’s ‘Acknowledgements’ section, which lists the sources of many of the book’s well-researched stories.
One of Along the River that Flows Uphill’s aims, which emerges near the end of the story, is to point out the need to create a set of standards that can help adventure travelers evaluate the risks they might face. Also, the need to have standards that can help adventure travelers assess whether the company or organization they plan to travel with has good safety-management systems in place to deal with those risks.
In addition to these practicalities, the book unexpectedly involved me by what I found to be a more poignant conundrum on page 193. Here, the authors sum up a metaphor that captures what many in our industry struggle with: whether we – the tourism trade – help or harm the peoples we visit during our travels.
In the end, being a subjective challenge, there are really no right answers, but many varying and informed opinions by those who try to do right and good, and by those who are impacted by their interactions with travelers.
The authors, who co- wrote the book, but wrote it in the first person for simplicity’s sake, have this to say on this subject:
“To my mind, the Yanomami (an indigenous tribe of Venezuela and Brazil who the authors visited on their travels) are struggling to exist in a kind of half-way state – hovering, like Schrodinger’s cat, between survival and extinction – so perhaps, after all, we, too, have broken the anthropologist’s fundamental rule just be being here. Just by observing. Just by opening the box and peering in. Certainly, I think, if we have not done them actual harm, then we have in some way increased their risk. And that is not a comforting thought.”
The authors’ honest, philosophic self-reflections add credibility to the book. Not only in the words above, which they write when they sense they’ve overstepped boundaries, but also in the build-up to them. They adroitly set the stage so that the reader is prepared to receive this question and this message. Their sincere reflections of their river experiences and the people they meet along the way remind me of the internal battles I face as I travel this world, with the hopes of inspiring change and sustainable practices. This book will make me ponder, deeper and further than I have done to this point, and with greater clarity.
From the authors:
The book, called Along the River that Flows Uphill – from the Orinoco to the Amazon (Haus Publishing, London, England, August, 2009), recounts the true story of an adventure travel trip that didn’t run smoothly. As a result, the authors of the book – Richard Starks and Miriam Murcutt – were forced to examine risk and adventure travel, and to look for ways in which to measure this risk.
Their book alludes to BS 8848 – a British Standard developed by the Royal Geographical Society in conjunction with Britain’s adventure travel trade – which is intended to help the travel trade industry anticipate risk and prepare for it. Your membership may not be aware of BS 8848 and may like to know about it. (It applies to the travel trade in the UK, but not yet in the US.)
Along The River that Flows Uphill is a travel book with a difference. It weaves the story of a journey to the Amazon with science, math and reason to explore the risks that are inherent in adventure travel – and, perhaps, in life.
In 2005, authors Richard Starks and Miriam Murcutt were commissioned by Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, to travel the length of a strange river called the Casiquiare in Venezuela.
This river – once the source of great controversy – is like no other on the planet, since it joins two distinct river systems, the Orinoco and the Amazon, by apparently flowing up and over the watershed that divides them.
In their book, the authors tell the story of their journey – including a brush with a tribe of Yanomami Indians, reputed to be “the most violent people on Earth”, and their confrontation with FARC guerillas when they strayed over the border into Colombia.
But the book is more than the account of a physical journey, since it also explores thoughts and ideas relating to risk and adventure travel.
Along The River that Flows Uphill is the second book the two authors have written together. Their first, called Lost in Tibet, was reviewed by National Geographic Adventure, which described it as “entertaining and well-written”, and Climbing magazine which called it “a page-turner for readers enamored of true-life adventure tales”. Lost in Tibet is now in its third printing, and the authors have recently sold an option for the film and television rights.
“A Guide to Best Practices for Archaeological Tourism” Now Available for Free
November 5, 2009
On October 22, 2009, during the ATTA’s Adventure Travel World Summit in Québec, Canada, the ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE of AMERICA (AIA), ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE, and the ADVENTURE TRAVEL TRADE ASSOCIATION (ATTA) announced the completion of a manual of good practices for anyone interested in visiting archaeological sites. The guide outlines practices that allow for proper, sustainable archaeological tourism, giving visitors the opportunity to fully experience ancient sites while minimizing any negative impact. The guide is an important resource for tour operators who wish to incorporate archaeological sites in their tour packages, for tour guides who lead people through the sites, for tourists who want to see these sites first hand, and for site managers charged with the maintenance and protection of sites. In conjunction with adequate and properly funded site management plans, these guidelines will help ensure that the public enjoy the experience of visiting ancient places for generations to come.
The Guide is intended as a starting place, and all three partners in this endeavor encourage feedback, additions and suggestions to help to ensure it’s thoroughness, accuracy and ability to influence the way the tourism industry and travelers interact 
with archaeological treasures worldwide. You are encouraged to share this free guide throughout your teams, your entire supply chain and to your client travelers. Email info@adventure.travel with comments/feedback using the subject header: “Archaeological Tourism”.
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.”
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