Each year, the Adventure Travel World Summit creates movements and supports initiatives within the travel industry. Bolstered by the theme, Omtanke, The Way Forward, the 2019 ATWS in Sweden promises to encourage the adventure travel community to consider its role in preserving the natural environment and fostering respectful cross-cultural exchange. Educational sessions will reflect the Swedish word omtanke — which connotes “caring” and “consideration”— while challenging delegates to think critically about the way forward. As always, you’ll find high-quality content led by industry experts as well as a few surprises in this year’s just-released agenda.
Today, perhaps more than ever, it is imperative that we, the adventure travel industry, remain committed to the belief that we can — and must — inspire travelers and conduct business in a way that betters the environment, bolsters local economies, demonstrates respect for all things, and keeps a steady gaze on the future.
During an intriguing opening plenary session, Frontiers of Tourism, a leading neuroscientist will illuminate the transformational ways in which the adventure travel experience shapes us and our relationships with others.
Throughout the Summit, an array of outdoor walking sessions — more than any Summit before — on topics ranging from filmmaking for social media to climate action will offer a unique immersion into Sweden’s close-to-nature lifestyle. Back by popular demand, one such session entitled, Street Wisdom: Answers are Everywhere is a guided, immersive urban walk that gives you the skills to see the streets and people of Gothenburg in a new manner so you can notice signs, clues, and answers to important business and life questions. And, of course, we’ll be bringing back the Adventure in Motion film competition, where you can view this year’s finalists and participate in a live audience vote to select the 2019 grand prize winner.
Opportunities abound for discovering destinations and outdoor gear from around Europe and the world, and the Summit’s international supplier Marketplace, Destination Showcase, and MediaConnect further connect delegates to one another to create long-lasting business relationships.
Following ATWS, on 20 September, extend your experience with a ground-breaking one-day ATTA Leadership Studio entitled, Future Proof Your Destination and Business with Practical Climate Action Strategies and Tools. Gain a firm grounding in the latest science of climate change along with practical strategies for how to implement better climate practices in your destination or travel business.
Our jam-packed agenda will challenge you to think harder than ever before about ways to change consumer behavior, as well as your own behavior, and will inspire and motivate our dedicated, thoughtful passionate community to take action and embrace innovations that will accelerate the change already being created to make tourism healthy and smart, worldwide.
About Us
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association is the largest global network of adventure travel leaders. Our community is made up of ~30,000 individual guides, tour operators, lodges, travel advisors, tourism boards, destination marketing and management organizations, outdoor educators, gear companies and travel media who share a belief and commitment to sustainable tourism. The connections and creativity of this vibrant community come together both virtually and in person to create and deliver the solutions that propel our businesses and our communities toward a responsible and profitable future.
