Today, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) publishes the second edition of its Sustainability & Impact Report. If there is one word that defines what we learned putting it together, it is learning itself.
Some lessons came from progress. Others came from falling short of our own expectations. Both have made us a better organization.
One of our biggest lessons came from the Membership Sustainability Commitment. We believed adoption would happen faster. Instead, we discovered something much more valuable. Through dozens of conversations with members across the world, we learned that sustainability cannot be reduced to a single framework or checklist.
Every member we spoke with cares deeply about sustainability. It is part of their DNA. Yet the way they demonstrate that commitment varies enormously depending on their geography, business model, size, culture, and community. Rather than seeing this as a setback, we see it as confirmation of something we suspected from the beginning: meaningful sustainability must leave room for different pathways.
Our ambition remains unchanged: to build the world's largest community of businesses committed to sustainable travel. What has changed is our understanding of how we get there. We will need to be more flexible, more inclusive, and more focused on enabling progress rather than prescribing a single definition of success.
We learned a similar lesson through our carbon reduction efforts
After reducing our event per-delegate emissions by more than 10% in 2024, we achieved only a 1.1% reduction in 2025, landing at 1,713 kg CO2e per delegate. At first glance, that feels disappointing. But it also reflects the reality of our mission. This year we intentionally brought our events to more remote destinations — places that benefit enormously from tourism but are harder to reach. That creates a real tension between reducing emissions and creating economic opportunities where they are needed most.
We do not believe sustainability means avoiding difficult trade-offs. It means acknowledging them transparently, measuring them honestly, and continually improving. Our commitment to reducing emissions remains firm, but we are equally committed to supporting destinations that deserve a place on the global tourism map.
Alongside these challenges came important breakthroughs
This past year prompted us to think more deeply about what sustainability and impact mean for an organization like ATTA. We realized that our contribution extends far beyond our own operations. Through research, education, events, and communications, we influence decisions made by thousands of businesses, destinations, and policymakers around the world.
That realization is why, for the first time, this report includes Research & Knowledge as a core dimension of our impact. Producing trusted research, generating market intelligence, and sharing knowledge are fundamental ways we help strengthen the adventure travel sector. This work reached our network in 2025 through 81 sustainability articles published via Adventure Travel News alone.
We also realized that one of our most meaningful impacts had never been explicitly captured in this report. For years, we have measured the economic value created by ATTA events. Over the past year, that work was further validated through our research, consistently showing that 65% to 75% of the projected return generated by our events remains within host destinations. That means local businesses grow, jobs are supported, tourism economies are strengthened, and public investment in tourism is reinforced. Bringing this measure into our Sustainability & Impact Report reflects a broader understanding of what impact means for ATTA. It is not only about reducing our footprint, it is also about increasing the positive value we create for the communities and destinations we serve.
Another important realization was that, in adventure travel, sustainability and safety are inseparable. Climate change, geopolitical instability, and growing operational complexity make effective risk management a sustainability issue as much as an operational one. That is why we made our Safety & Risk Management course available to all Business Members, equipping our community to operate more safely, more responsibly, and more resiliently.
Finally, we learned that some ambitions require more time than we anticipated
Becoming a certified B Corporation remains an important aspiration for ATTA, but it has become clear that achieving this by the end of 2026 is not realistic. Rather than rushing toward a deadline, we have chosen to adjust our timeline while staying fully committed to the goal.
Perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all.
Stay true to your vision. Stay grounded in your values. Hold yourself accountable to your goals. But be willing to adapt your path as you learn.
Sustainability is not about perfection. It is about continuous learning, continuous improvement, and continuing to move forward.
Thank you for being part of this journey. You can read the full 2025 Sustainability & Impact Report here.