Integrated Partnership Between ATTA & Travel Leaders Headed for Success

27 October 2015
Translate
atws2015preview-1-Juno Kim
© ATTA / Juno Kim

(SEATTLE) October 28, 2015 – Earlier this year, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA; www.adventuretravel.biz) and Travel Leaders (www.travelleaders.com) signed an exclusive, three-year agreement to create and execute a specialization training program for agents to become Travel Leaders’ Active & Adventure Travel Specialists. Qualifying participants include both those Travel Leaders who already possess a level of expertise in this vital industry segment and those who wish to become more proficient at selling active and adventure travel.

The program is open to any Travel Leader or affiliate interested in completing the curriculum to become an expert in the Active & Adventure specialty. So far, forty-six Travel Leaders have signed up for the training program, which participants have up to two years to complete. In the months since the program was launched, three Travel Leaders have completed the training.

“Adventure travel opens a whole new area to consider along with luxury and leisure travel,” says LaVonne Markus, a Travel Leader who has completed the training. “Even hard core adventurists want to be pampered at the end of the day! We all need to understand what adventure is and then learn how to offer it to our clients knowing that we have experienced operators to assist us.”

atws2015preview-2-Juno Kim
© ATTA / Juno Kim

As part of this partnership, the ATTA has reserved space at its events to include Travel Leaders agents. Half of the travel advisors who attended the first annual AdventureELEVATE in Snowmass, Colorado, were representatives from Travel Leaders.

“The tour operators I met [at AdventureELEVATE] were very impressed that Travel Leaders and ATTA have teamed up to broaden the exposure and reach of their products,” says Kevin Geiser, a Travel Leaders agent from Michigan. “Adventure travel, no matter the degree, is something that more and more travelers are asking for when they talk with our travel counselors. I personally enjoy adventure travel, and am excited about Travel Leaders affiliation with ATTA and added focus on this aspect of travel.”

Travel Leaders also had a presence at this year’s ATMEX in Chiapas and at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Puerto Varas, Chile, where Travel Leaders VP Perry Lungmus moderated a panel discussion on how adventure operators and destinations can partner with travel advisors to help grow their business. The ATTA plans to reserve spots for Travel Leaders at all its major events in 2016, including AdventureELEVATE in Quebec and the Adventure Travel World Summit in Alaska.

Additionally, the ATTA will have a presence at the Travel Leaders National Meeting in Orlando this weekend. ATTA’s VP of Operations, Jason Reckers will be a panelist for the “Active & Adventure Travel Panel: We Didn't Know You Could Help Us With That Kind of Travel,” a 60-minute session devoted to Adventure Travel on Sunday, November 1. The ATTA’s Meredith Guzy will represent both the ATTA and Travel Leaders as the Active & Adventure Specialist Training Program Expert in the “Learning Lounge,” an interactive area that allows attendees to talk with subject matter experts to more thoroughly understand, experience and implement all the major components of Travel Leaders’ branded programs and initiatives.

About Adventure Travel Trade Association
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) serves over 1,000 members in 90 countries worldwide. Members predominantly include tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents and accommodations with a vested interest in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. The ATTA delivers solutions and connections that propel members towards their business goals and the industry toward a responsible and profitable future. Through its regional AdventureConnect events and annual Adventure Travel World Summit trade conference, the ATTA excels in professional learning, networking and partnering services. With expertise in research, education, adventure travel industry news and promotion, members of the ATTA receive competitive opportunities that help establish them as leaders in adventure tourism.

For more information:

To connect with us:

Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest

Comments