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.
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 sustainable travel. The ATTA announcement came in conjunction with this event as it counts among its chief avocations the promotion of responsible tourism which protects and promotes authentic destinations, environmental sustainability and egalitarian profits worldwide. The ATTA recognizes that tourism designed in this way has the power to transform communities and those who visit them for the better.
The Adventure Travel World Summit has become the industry event for networking, discussion and collaboration around industry best practices and global tourism issues affecting adventure travel, and recognizes Switzerland as one of the world’s most progressive nations in the sustainable tourism arena.
Lucerne will offer the Summit delegates both a cosmopolitan city rich in art, history and culture, as well as proximity to world-renowned water and mountain activities, with the Summit to be conducted within in walking distance of Lake Lucerne and in the valley of the Pilatus, Titilus, and Rigi peaks. The country offers a wide variety of Pre-Summit adventure activities within short traveling distances, mostly via the country's famed public transportation system, including in the popular regions of St. Moritz and Jungfrau.
Registrations are now open for the 2012 event, to be held October 8-12th, at the KKL Luzern.