High Moments, Low Impact: Rethinking Adventure Travel's Sustainability Efforts

This report is the first in a series from the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and Switzerland Tourism that discusses how the adventure travel industry can use the current interruption in tourism to reassess their impact on the world around them and put sustainability first. The purpose of this report is to identify where the industry is now, what initiatives are happening, and where it needs to go to make tourism sustainable for the future of our planet and people.

While pioneers of sustainable tourism have long been calling for antidotes to travel’s negative effects, the movement has been growing in the past decades. As it gains traction, positive changes are being made, but more awareness and action are needed. On the industry side, there is a lack of global industry standard, so multiple systems have emerged, many of which are not enforced or controlled. There is also a lack of market awareness on the consumer side. Most tourists simply do not know about the indicators associated with sustainable tourism, and the complexity of measures of sustainability makes it difficult for consumers to make educated and informed decisions.

To this end, the ATTA is collaborating with Switzerland Tourism on this research report series, the goal of which is to support the travel community with case studies, lessons learned and best practices from Switzerland and abroad. This first report sets the stage with the current status of sustainability efforts in adventure travel today.