It’s hard to believe that another year has come to an end, and as I reflect back on 2024, it’s a mixture of everything – the good, the bad and the ugly. But the thing I have been struck with most in these past few days is how HOPE continues to raise us up every day. Despite the challenges – the conflicts, the division, and the sheer overwhelm of all the difficulties we face in our various businesses, organizations, and destinations – there remains hope.
Hope when I sat in the Destination Accelerators at our events in Quito, Kitzbühel, Asheville, and Panama City – where the most important and chosen question to discuss was, “How do we attract the right type of responsible traveler?” This shift is monumental when you think about it. Until recently, many tourism growth strategies were only talking about increasing the top-line number of visitors, which as we all know, is not a holistic measure of the value travelers can bring, and left unchecked, can lead to problematic burdens for local communities.
Hope when I attended our Climate Innovation Conference in Bergen and Alesund, Norway, where I learned about cutting-edge technologies and innovative strategies to tackle climate change. There, I heard veteran operators say, “You know, this is the first time in a long time I’ve had some hope for the future,” and saw leaders across the industry fully buy in and engage with the work ATTA has been doing with Tomorrow’s Air.
Hope when I listened to an ecolodge operator in Fiji during AdventureNEXT describe Cyclone Winston, which hit the region almost 10 years ago. It completely obliterated their operation and buildings, but they persevered and faced tragedy with grit – they are now back on their feet thanks to their fierce determination to rebuild.
Hope when I heard the story of a tour operator in Fiji who went to the U.S. and British embassies during the pandemic and pleaded for financial help because business had completely dried up. The embassy staff came up with a plan to hire the operator and his guides to drive doctors to villages. As a result, they were able to extend medical care to remote areas and his business could survive through the crisis.
Hope and joy in the process of co-creating the song “Unidos en la Aventura” with the band Making Movies and hundreds of members from all around the world in Quito, Kitzbühel, and Asheville. The message and beauty of the song is unique to all of us, the ATTA community!
Hundreds of incredible stories of hope spring to mind from this past year, and I am grateful to have been in my role for the last 20 years with the ATTA and to be blessed with the presence of all of you at our events and other global gatherings. That hope springs from the collective caring and action that happens when we work together, look out for one another, and support each other.
If things are going wonderfully for you, I urge you to think of those who are not in that position and see if there is a way to lend a helping hand, or create some positive impact on those around you. Right here in our own adventure travel community, we have members suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene in Asheville and members who are going through the nightmare of war in Lebanon and the West Bank. I recently heard about a small company struggling because a foreign mining operation has soiled their waterways and beaches, depriving them of a food source and ruining the outdoor property for guests to enjoy. Another operator had to abandon his lodge in Myanmar for the safety of his family; he later received photos from his neighbors that showed military groups destroying it.
Gabi and I support an organization that aids refugees, and they recently sent this message in the mail to us:
"May we who celebrate the holidays in the warm glow of a home remember refugees who are sleeping outside tonight,
May we who gather around a bountiful table of food with friends and family remember those whose hearts are aching far away from those they love
May this season that celebrates peace on earth remind us to pray for those whose lives are disrupted by violence and oppression
Let us ACT and SPEAK on behalf of those whose hands are tied and voices silenced…"
I love working in this community of adventure travel professionals. You are the most caring, courageous, innovative, and thoughtful group of people in any industry I’ve ever heard of. Breaking bread with you all around the world this year has given me hope for what we can accomplish in the years to come, and I hope it’s done that for you too.
As Thornton May said at our second Adventure Travel World Summit back in 2006, “Your network will keep you safe.” Thank you all for being who you are, being part of a collective force for good, and for holding each other in community all year long.