The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) completed the last of a two-year program of AdventureEDU trainings in rural regions of Florida in June. The program which had previously been held in Steinhatchee, Apalachicola, and Sebring wrapped up in Okeechobee with a two-day workshop on marketing to consumers and the travel trade.
Delivered on behalf of VISIT FLORIDA, the AdventureEDU facilitators Russell Walters and Richard Edwards took participants through a series of short presentations, current market trends, and interactive working groups to prepare participants to market their destinations and products to the active and adventure travel sector.
The training was targeted at guides, DMO’s, accommodations and service providers in the region as part of an initiative to strengthen the capacity of Florida’s businesses to compete in the growing active and adventure travel sector.
As an outcome of this initial two-year commitment, VISIT FLORIDA is now embarking on a journey to develop a statewide Adventure Travel Network. This latest investment by VISIT FLORIDA will kick off in early August with a statewide, stakeholder, and network mapping project, the results of which will be released as part of a one-day workshop at the Governor's Conference on Tourism on 31 August 2022.
This workshop will form the first step in a series of planned in-person and virtual workshops, meetings and webinars led by the ATTA to help Florida to become recognized as a leading adventure travel destination.
Russell Walters, ATTA, Regional Director, North America noted, “It’s been exciting to see the response from the business community to our work in the state so far. We’re looking forward to working with guides, operators and the community to help set a course for continued statewide collaboration to ensure Florida ’s natural assets, off-the-beaten path destinations and strong local cultures continue to enjoy increased visibility and year-round visitation."