(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.
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Sales – customer acquisition, turning ‘lookers’ into ‘bookers’ etc.
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Customer Relationship Management – Client retention and loyalty
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Future vision – emergent, impacting trends, destinations, niches, etc.
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Internet – SEO, Web design, email marketing, blogs, etc.
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Business – operations, training, risk management, insurance, etc.
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Distribution & Selling – technology platforms, GDS, partnerships, etc.
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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
cchesak@adventuretravel.biz.
For more information
on the Adventure Travel World Summit contact
the ATTA at 866-411-3131 or
info@adventuretravel.biz.
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.