AdventureWeek is a way for the Adventure Travel Trade Association to showcase an adventure destination to the travel community. It’s a way for destinations to place themselves firmly on the adventure stage and offer itineraries that confirm how they have internalized the tenets of adventure travel and the values of the ATTA. AdventureWeek helps get the word out about a destination’s debut by inviting a selection of international buyers and media who can start promoting and selling that destination in the months that follow.
ATTA's storytelling team helped showcase wondrous Nepal
AdventureWeek Rebound Nepal last October was an iteration of the AdventureWeek concept, designed for a very specific purpose. Most travelers already associate Nepal with adventure travel, but after last year’s devastating earthquake, Nepal had a different message to send to the travel world: we are still here and you are still welcome. While the physical damage was very real, the reputational damage the earthquake caused Nepal’s tourism economy carried an even heavier price tag.
"I am so happy I was able to see firsthand what's going on in Nepal. The situation isn’t ideal, but I do believe that it's essential to get travelers back there asap and I'm hoping to do my part in that."
-- Stephanie Pearson, Freelance Writer
It has been just over a year since the earthquake that threatened to destroy Nepal’s tourism industry. The ATTA was able to get 15 of the world’s top adventure media to tour the country in October 2015. After seeing for themselves that travel was still very much possible in Nepal and that life-altering adventure experiences were still there waiting to be had, the AdventureWeek Rebound Nepal writers and photographers came back and started immediately pitching and publishing their accounts of the trip. If you’ve heard the phrase “Nepal is open for business” or “Now is the time to visit Nepal” then chances are good that you can trace that messaging back to October’s AdventureWeek.
AdventureWeek Rebound Nepal Reading List
- ”Hiking the Himalayas: What to Know Before You Go” - Conde Nast Traveler
- “What It's Like to Travel in Nepal Right Now” - TravelAge West
- “Trekking the Himalayas is as Beautiful as Before the Earthquakes” - Matador Network
- “Months After Nepal’s Deadly Earthquake, Locals Are Hoping Tourists Will Return En Masse” - Vanity Fair
- “Why Now is the Best Time to Paddle Nepal” - Matador Network
- “Nepal Says It’s Open for Business but Tourists are Still Staying Away” - PRI’s The World
- “Nepal Rising” - Travel Weekly
- “Riding High” - Roads & Kingdoms
- “Why Now is the Time to Visit Nepal” - National Geographic
- “Nepal is Climbing Back” - Elevation Outdoors
"if I hadn't known there was an earthquake, I wouldn't have realized there was one. A lot of places seem like they are 100% back up and running and then you hear stories of people that lost their family or that in Kathmandu, the temples have been destroyed. Many people have said to send money but that's not really what they need. I think it's important to realize they need people to come, to be here, to get the lodges and restaurants full again."
- - Jen Murphy, AFAR Magazine
