North American adventure travel professionals will gather at the AdventureELEVATE event hosted by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) to address today’s most pressing industry issues. This year’s concurrent educational sessions, which have just been announced, promise to deliver on the event’s theme, Empower Your Edge. AdventureELEVATE will be held 13-15 March 2018 in Banff, Alberta.
Shifting away from the lecture format common at many professional events, the fourth annual AdventureELEVATE will feature longer, interactive sessions, most with a workshop component led by subject-area experts focused on a provocative topic matter in the following areas: trendspotting, marketing, media, tourism development, and technology. “In a workshop or facilitated learning environment, AdventureELEVATE delegates will participate in educational networking, business-to-business collaboration and sharing, and bringing hands-on tactics to life,” said Alice Gifford, events content manager for the ATTA. “Facilitators will foster an atmosphere in which theoretical concepts can be turned into practical business applications.”
Aligning with the Empower Your Edge theme, each workshop facilitator will encourage delegates to consider what is waiting at the “edge” professionally, personally, and within the industry as a whole. “Empower Your Edge as a theme implies uncovering new ideas and concepts that could drive success for your business in the future. What's on the 'edge' of your current business focus that might hold potential for you?” said Christina Beckmann, director of research and AdventureEDU for the ATTA.
In the trendspotting lab, delegates will examine a number of issues disrupting and shaping today’s adventure travel landscape such as extreme sustainability, status adventures, and Millennial behavior. Delegates representing businesses that already have an email marketing program in place will find value in the workshop directed toward harnessing the power of marketing automation. And helping to ensure adventure travel provides economic and social benefits to local populations, a workshop on transforming rural communities into world-class adventure travel destinations awaits.
In addition to educational workshops and labs, a concurrent MediaConnect will offer industry professionals an opportunity to meet with official media delegates. While pre-scheduled meetings are held during AdventureExchange, MediaConnect allows delegates to gain additional one-on-one time with journalists, photographers, and influencers intent on finding fresh story ideas for their publications. Additional educational sessions will be announced soon.
“AdventureELEVATE is meant to get delegates out of their comfort zone and into a place where they question their assumptions, think differently, and learn from others. In-person connections matter,” said Casey Hanisko, the ATTA’s president of business services and events. “Getting out from behind your desk and into your community makes a difference to not just your business and others, but a difference to your soul.”
In addition to these educational sessions, the AdventureELEVATE agenda features three keynote presenters who will offer insight and tangible takeaways on how delegates can successfully employ innovative strategies in today’s ever-evolving and multi-dimensional adventure tourism space. An author and marketing expert with a background of leadership roles at corporations such as Mary Quant, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi-Co, Lion Nathan, Saatchi & Saatchi (17 years as CEO worldwide), and Publicis Groupe, Kevin Roberts will help delegates define and cultivate the strength found at their own personal edge. Anne Farrar, director of photography for National Geographic Traveler, will talk about the power of creative storytelling to turn readers into travelers and then into activists. Consultant Tom Fritz, who spoke at the 2017 AdventureELEVATE event, is back by popular demand with a comprehensive look at what professionals need to do to deliver the ultimate customer experience in an in-depth workshop keynote, delivered with actionable items for adventure tourism business leaders to implement.
Space is still available at AdventureELEVATE 2018. Register today to reserve your spot among North America’s top adventure travel professionals and have first access to AdventureExchange appointments, opening early 2018.