(JANUARY 3, 2007) – SEATTLE – Selected as a site for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and recognized as a world-class environment focused on outdoor adventure, recreation and responsible tourism, Whistler today was chosen by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) as the site for the 2007 Adventure Travel World Summit.
Hosted by the ATTA, the 2007 Adventure Travel World Summit will be held at the award-winning TELUS Whistler Conference Centre October 4-6.
In its third year, the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) will continue to deliver a premier international forum for executive-level industry networking, multi-disciplinary sessions aimed at sustainable and responsible growth, and solutions-oriented dialogue, debate, and deliberation on critical topics.
In addition to Whistler ranking top in a delegate survey conducted by the ATTA about future Summit locations, “Tourism Whistler, Whistler’s mayor and the Canadian Tourism Commission have made the 2007 Adventure Travel World Summit organizers feel welcome from the start,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “Commitment to partnership, a fantastic venue, and sharing a common vision for the thoughtful development of adventure travel in this region and beyond was crucial in our selecting this spectacular site.”
“Conversion” is the underpinning theme for the 2007 ATWS. Keynote presentations and a mix of strategic and tactical interactive roundtables, workshops and forums will help adventure travel organizations turn operational, marketing, partnership and prospect opportunities into results-oriented endeavors. Select areas of emphasis for the 2007 ATWS will include:
- Marketing – trends, branding, marketing, advertising, public relations, etc.
- Sales – customer acquisition, turning ‘lookers’ into ‘bookers’ etc.
- Customer Relationship Management – Client retention and loyalty
- Future vision – emergent, impacting trends, destinations, niches, etc.
- Internet – SEO, Web design, email marketing, blogs, etc.
- Business – operations, training, risk management, insurance, etc.
- Distribution & Selling – technology platforms, GDS, partnerships, etc.
- Strategic Alliances & Collaboration – Networking sectors within the adventure travel community (agents, operators, destinations, lodges, media/publishers, service providers, etc.)
- Sustainable/Responsible Tourism – Community-based tourism, volunteer-based tourism, carbon offsets, etc.
Delegates include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, lodges/resorts and transportation companies (air, auto, etc.). Adventure travel agents, attractions, and travel-oriented gear manufacturers also will participate along with media, travel, marketing and technology service organizations, academic institutions, research enterprises, tourism and recreational governmental agencies.
Summit attendance is limited to the first 600 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration is accessible at www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com. Registration fees include sessions, meetings, conference materials, receptions, entertainment and meals. Summit delegate passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with special pricing available for early registration until April 15, 2007. “Early-bird” registration is $675.00 (U.S.) for ATTA Members, $900.00 for non-members.
In its sold-out (delegates and exhibitors) October 2006 ATWS in Seattle, more than 400 executives from 26 countries convened, an increase of 32 percent delegates over the prior year. In the ATTA’s post-Summit (October 2006) delegate survey, 95 percent of respondents were "extremely satisfied" or "satisfied" with the conference, confirming the solid return on investment that attendees receive for their involvement.
“This year’s [2006] event went so far beyond [expectations] as to lift in a category of its own,” said adventure travel industry pioneer, author and co-founder of Mountain Travel Sobek Richard Bangs. “It was brilliantly executed, as organized as a Swiss timepiece convention, with speakers who fiercely challenged, informed and entertained, with participants whose passion for adventure was only surpassed by a fervor to learn and share, and featuring good coffee and fare, which may be the rarest of the qualities cited.”
Returning sponsors supporting the 2007 Adventure Travel World Summit include National Geographic Adventure Magazine, ExOfficio and Quotient Marketing, and will be joined by a host of new sponsors including the Canadian Tourism Commission, Norway and Brazil. Exhibition space at the 2007 Summit also is expected to sell out early. Exclusive Tents, MonkeyBean Solutions Inc., Tourism Ireland and Macabi Skirt are the first exhibitors registered, with dozens of reservations already logged. For information on sponsorship and exhibition space, contact ATTA Director of Business Development Chris Chesak at .
For more information on the Adventure Travel World Summit contact the ATTA at 866-411-3131 or [email protected].
Established in 1990, the Seattle-based ATTA (www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market worldwide. ATTA Members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, travel agents/agencies, guides, lodges/resorts/attractions, media, and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit, the ATTA provides professional support, development, education, research, marketing, career building, networking and cost-saving resources to its members.
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*Conference venue, dates, speakers, sessions and events are subject to change.
Media Contacts:
Chris Doyle
Director, Adventure Travel Trade Association
916.847.0261