A 50-year roadmap for the future of adventure travel and responsible tourism will be explored during World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry.
Issues, policies and trends in the adventure travel sector will be debated across two days, rounded off by a networking event for operators, agents, destinations, tourism boards, equipment brands and the media.
Chris Doyle, Executive Director – Europe, Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), will lead the first session, entitled ‘Pioneering the Next 50 Years, Today’.
Organised by ATTA, the debate will consider a new 50-year path for responsible tourism and ways to tackle the problems faced today.
Doyle said: “We must acknowledge today’s existing barriers and challenge faulty institutional models and systems.
“It is time to explore a new course of action, designed to help our entire leisure tourism industry…to reconsider, re-frame and re-invent how it views development and capacity.
“We will take a deeper look at how purposeful shifts in policy and development can contribute to an economically prosperous future for the entire tourism supply chain.”
The session will take place from 1pm to 2pm on Wednesday 5 November in Platinum Suite 3 and 4.
Doyle will also take part in the three-part adventure travel programme on Thursday 6 November.
The first session is called ‘Condensed Adventure Travel Trends for the Travel Professional’, and will feature Doyle, along with Lyn Hughes, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at Wanderlust Magazine, and Ulrika Larsson, ATTA Member Advocate Europe for AdventureConnect.
Taking place from 10am to 11am, it will offer delegates the chance to hear about adventure travel trends and research.
Doyle commented: “Hot topics include market shifts, digital marketing, traveller lifestyle and motivation, youth markets and mobile booking.
“We’ll make sure delegates receive valuable insights on how to frame these issues within their businesses.”
The second session, from 11am to noon, will see Doyle leading a forum debating the issues in his earlier presentation, ‘Pioneering the Next 50 Years, Today’.
The third and final element of Thursday’s programme, from noon to 1pm, is part of the ‘AdventureConnect’ calendar of networking events organised by ATTA.
It will feature nibbles and drinks, and the chance for those in the industry to network.
All the events on 6 November will be in South Gallery 19-20.
World Travel Market Senior Director Simon Press said: “As we are marking the 35th WTM this year, we have been looking at the next 35 years in travel and discussing what the future might hold.
“It’s great that the adventure travel sector is also taking a long-term view and is debating sustainable policies that could shape the industry for the next 50 years.
“The Adventure Travel Trade Association serves more than 900 members in 80 countries, and so it is the ideal partner for us.
“The sessions being run by ATTA will certainly help delegates to achieve their goals in business, while supporting the wider industry on the road to a responsible and profitable future.”
