The importance of picking friends wisely goes as far back as Euripides, who said, “Every man is like the company he is wont to keep.” With that in mind, I’m very proud to announce a new partnership between Explorer and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).
The ATTA is a trade organization that promotes adventure travel worldwide, and its mission is to “support and benefit from the creation of sustainable adventure travel markets with a focus on people, planet and profit; network with destinations, tour operators, travel agents, accommodations, service partners and media partners worldwide; and access and deliver global and regional news, research, events, networking and education.”
According to ATTA’s values statement, the organization believes adventure tourism experiences are made up of three main components: physical activity, a connection to nature and the environment and cultural immersion.
It’s clear to us that the philosophies of our two brands are totally in sync. Beyond our common goals and after many discussions with the ATTA, we were very impressed by the passion ATTA staffers show for their organization. They work tirelessly to find new ways to benefit members through education programs, special events, industry news and more. In fact, the dedication of its staff was one of the prime reasons we were so excited to become a partner.
Another goal of ATTA is to engage with more travel agents. Through education and networking, the organization wants to introduce agents to its wide range of adventure travel suppliers. Of course, we support these efforts to keep our readers in the know about the best travel experiences out there.
Finally, we applaud ATTA’s strong commitment to sustainable tourism and ethical business values. In order to join the organization, members must agree to a list of practices based in part on the UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
A commitment to travel as a force for positive change is another part of ATTA’s values statement.
“As tourism is one of the largest employers on the planet, it has a major impact on peoples’ economic well-being and the planet’s health,” the statement reads. “Furthermore, adventure tourism is inextricably dependent on human- and nature-capital; protection and promotion of these resources is key.”
At Explorer, we strongly believe that the future of travel is reliant on sustainable practices, even when these practices mean difficult choices.
“Our desire is for the ATTA network to thrive, to grow and to do it the right way, which sometimes is the harder path,” said Shannon Stowell, president of ATTA.
Now that sounds like the right company to keep.
