Adventure Travel Trade Asso. appoints new Board of Directors
The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has appointed a Board of Directors, marking a shift away from the advisory board it has had for the last 18 years.
The Board appointments include Chunnie Wright of the Law Office of Chun T. Wright; Malia Asfour, Director of the Jordan Tourism Board, North America; Kimberly Daley, CEO of Daley & Company; Erik Blachford, Venture Investor at Blachford Capital; and Shannon Stowell, CEO of the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
The ATTA is headed by Stowell, CEO; Casey Hanisko, President; and Gustavo Timo, Vice President of Product Development and Destination Development. Joining Hanisko and Timo on ATTA’s Executive Team are Clara Short, Director of Finance; long time ATTA team member Jason Reckers, now Head of ATTA Labs; and Christina Beckmann, Head of Tomorrow’s Air .
Sustainability is a key tenet of adventure travel, and while the term was used often prior to the pandemic, the future of travel heavily skews in that direction. In 2021, the World Bank and World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) conducted a member survey and reported that when travel resumes, the most important anticipated market for destinations’ recovery would be Adventure/Nature-Based/Eco-Tourism. Key features of adventure travel were already well-suited to pandemic travel: small groups, outdoor activities, remote locations, immersion in nature, and companies who already focused on risk management and safety. Thus far in 2022, all signs point to a bright future for the sector.
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association is the largest global network of adventure travel leaders. ATTA 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.
