(SEATTLE) – AUGUST 9, 2006 – Showing industry-wide cohesion in a historically fragmented market, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) this year has added more than 100 new members from around the world, posting sharp gains during the year’s traditionally slowest summer months.
Abercrombie & Kent, Lindblad Expeditions, Asia Transpacific Journeys, Outside Magazine, Discover Magazine, Archaeology Magazine, Archaeological Institute of America, Incredible India!, TravMedia, Green Travel Magazine, Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tourism Development Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago, are included in the recent spate of new ATTA Members.
“Returning members are also giving the ATTA a solid vote of confidence, with virtually all members that rejoined the ATTA since 2004 under the organization’s new leadership renewing their membership,” said Stowell.
A sampling of returning members include the Kenya Tourism Board, O.A.R.S., G.A.P Adventures, Qatar Airways, TCS Expeditions, ExOfficio, REI Adventures and numerous others. Recent ATTA Membership growth is especially being seen from among non-U.S. tourism boards and tour operators, as well as the media.
Renewed support for the ATTA and its annual Summit also arrives from sponsors and exhibitors of last year’s Adventure Travel World Summit. In 2005, the ATTA received widespread post-Summit accolades for providing the industry an intimate, executive-level gathering of leaders. Its broad-reaching group of attendees includes tour operators, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), tourism boards, transportation companies (air, auto, etc.), adventure travel agents, travel product manufacturers, media and others.
Additionally, 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit delegate registrations, sponsorships and exhibitors are up over the prior year for the October 19-21 Summit, signaling rising industry interest and support for the new, ATTA-led collaborative era of the adventure travel industry. And, for the first time, the VAST Accreditation training conference of Virtuoso and the NOLS Risk Management Training Program are being held in association with an adventure travel trade-only industry event.
“Never before, since the first World Ecotourism Conference in Florida in the early 90’s, has there been such a high caliber professional membership association in our industry like today’s ATTA,” said Wildland Adventures President Kurt Kutay. “ATTA is the only professional organization that seriously attends to the business. Its work to build an industry with a vast network of related products and services, with a concern for treading lightly around the globe, is why top executives in the adventure travel industry, government institutions, indigenous leaders, ecotourism professionals and others support the ATTA and its gathering at the World Summit in Seattle.”
“Increased interest in what the ATTA is doing to spur the adventure travel community toward responsible and sustainable growth is largely due to word-of-mouth buzz among the industry’s leaders,” said ATTA President Mr. Shannon Stowell. “We sense this grassroots movement is the result of listening to the needs and interests of travelers then collaborating in real terms with the organizations working to meet travelers’ dreams yet increasing our care for the people and places visited.”
For the 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), sponsorship and exhibitor commitments have increased significantly and are expected to climb prior to the Summit. Initial supporters include (sponsors are indicated by an asterisk):
Adventure Central*
Archaeology Magazine*
Banshee Riverboards*
Buffalo Tours
Canadian Tourism Commission
Contourwear
Design Salt
Discover Magazine*
Eagle Creek*
ExOfficio*
Incredible India!*
M-Rock*
Marketwire*
National Geographic Adventure Magazine*
Norway Tourism Board
Orbitz.com*
Qatar Airways*
Quasar Nautica
Quotient Marketing
REI Adventures*
Sanofi Pasteur*
Tourism Ireland*
TravMedia*
World Concern
Presented by the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the annual Summit is designed for industry executives and decision makers within the travel and tourism industry with a vested interest in the adventure travel community. The outcome of the ATTA’s Summit is to equip delegates with tools to better their business, enable the industry to better serve travelers, promote responsible adventure tourism, and optimize the industry’s market potential through productive debate, dialogue and collaboration.
The Seattle-based Adventure Travel Trade Association (www.adventuretravel.biz) is a strategic membership organization dedicated to raising the profile of adventure travel globally. Established in 1990, the ATTA provides services, knowledge, and connections that help its members succeed in their businesses and contribute to responsible industry growth.
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*Conference speakers, sessions and events are subject to change.