Prompted by market demand and the desire to fulfill the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s mission to professionalize the adventure tourism community, the ATTA and a selection of best-of-class adventure education and training institutions are joining together to launch the first phase of AdventureEDU, Training for a Sustainable Business, Earth and Adventure.
AdventureEDU is designed to assist governments and tour operators worldwide in accessing excellent instruction that leads to safe, sustainable and high quality adventure travel experiences. It is a fee-based set of courses available for businesses in first half of 2011.
The ATTA launches this long-term education and training initiative with the International Rafting Federation (IRF), National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS), The George Washington University (GWU) and School of Adventure Studies, West Highland College, University of the Highlands and Islands. These institutions are leaders in key areas of adventure tourism training, each widely respected for offering some of the most progressive training currently available in the adventure tourism industry.
“This market-driven program allows the ATTA, alongside the global adventure travel community, to lead itself in applying standards and best practices in all areas of operations, from business management to field and guide safety,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “Creating access to top-caliber, affordable training is central to our association’s mission to help professionalize our industry at large.”
ATTA’s AdventureEDU partners will offer instruction in small business management specific to the adventure travel industry and provide guides with field skills in specialized adventure activities and risk management. Courses are available online and in person.
Despite efforts to set global standards in the adventure industry through the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), to date no coordinated global safety standards or skills training standards for adventure activities exist.
Recognizing the industry’s rapid expansion and a global need for training, the ATTA assembled this program and will continue to develop and expand it using the services on offer from the recognized leaders in adventure operations and safety management.
Offering entry-level course work is the first phase objective of the ATTA’s AdventureEDU. Concurrent with the program’s 2011 launch, the AdventureEDU group will continue to assess and aggregate leading education and training providers to strengthen both the body of works and expertise available to governments and tour operators seeking to improve the quality of their adventure travel services. More advanced skills and management coursework will eventually be offered in 2012.
AdventureEDU training earns successful participants certificates of completion and in some cases, college-level credits provided by the education/training institution delivering the course.
Many courses are offered over the Internet, using presentations and workbook materials that allow students to self-guide through the class. Other courses, such as the field skills courses, are offered in person. For these classes, participants will travel to the instructor’s location, or a special arrangement may be made for the instructor to travel to the participant’s home country.
In the first phase, launching in the coming months, businesses and organizations may sign up for coursework offered in Office Modules and Field Modules:
Office Modules:
- Adventure Tourism Concepts (e.g., Introduction to Adventure Tourism, Cultural Heritage Tourism,)
- Sustainable tourism operations (e.g. Management of Adventure Tourism, Eco-lodge Development)
- Business development, management, and progressive leadership
- Product Development
- Marketing
- Finances and reporting
- Legal matters/ Risk Management
- Swiftwater Rescue
- Whitewater Rafting
- Paddling: canoeing, kayaking
- Mountain biking
- Mountaineering
- Climbing
- Bushcraft
Qualified and internationally recognized institutions and organizations interested in being considered for the AdventureEDU consortium of the industry’s top educators and trainers are encouraged to complete the following form: Click here…
