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ATTA
Members Comprise More than Half of
National Geographic Adventure's "Best
Adventure Travel Companies on
Earth"
(SEATTLE)
Forty-three of the 72 adventure tour
operators named in National Geographic
Adventure's February 2009 cover story
(print edition), "Best Adventure Travel
Companies {on Earth}", are active members
of the Adventure Travel Trade Association
(ATTA). National Geographic Adventure
surveyed 248 companies representing
paddling outfitters, trekking guides,
safari specialists and companies around
the globe that offer a collection of
adventure travel experiences. According to
Adventure, the feature represents, "A
comprehensive ranking of the world's best
outfitters &endash; surveyed, sorted and
scored." In analyzing the leading
adventure travel specialists, Adventure
considered factors such as environmental
awareness, sustainability, reliable
service, local knowledge, safety
practices, spirit of adventure, client
satisfaction and other variables in
ranking the travel providers.
"Focused
attention and scrutiny by media sources on
adventure travel, a growing sector of the
overall travel and leisure market, are
helping travelers find progressive,
high-quality companies more easily," said
ATTA President Shannon Stowell.
Since its
re-launch in 2005, the ATTA and its
members have collaborated more frequently
at global conferences, regional meetings
and through Webinars to unify,
professionalize, promote and responsibly
grow the adventure travel market
worldwide. Beyond media reports on travel
providers such as those found in
Adventure's feature story, independent,
third-party organizations such as the ATTA
with its www.adventure.travel Web site
(launched in 2008 as an educational
resource for adventure travelers) have
undertaken efforts to help people make
more educated choices when seeking and
selecting quality tour
operators.
"It's a top honor
to be recognized, we're thrilled NGA is
committed to finding the world's top
adventure travel companies," says John
Sheppard, director of REI Adventures.
"It's surveys like these and the momentum
that the ATTA has built that help to pull
the adventure travel industry together and
challenge us to be the very best for our
guests and the earth."
ATTA Members
featured in the National Geographic
Adventure compilation, most of which are
also profiled at www.adventure.travel,
include:
• Alaska
Alpine Adventures &endash;
www.alaskaalpineadventures.com
• andBEYOND
&endash; www.andbeyond.com
• Austin-Lehman
Adventures &endash;
www.austinlehman.com
• Backroads
&endash; www.backroads.com
• Big
Five Tours & Expeditions &endash;
www.bigfive.com
• BikeHike
Adventures &endash;
www.bikehike.com
• Boundless
Journeys &endash;
www.boundlessjourneys.com
• Butterfield
& Robinson &endash;
www.butterfield.com
• Ciclismo
Classico &endash;
www.ciclismoclassico.com
• Classic
Journeys &endash;
www.classicjourneys.com
• Country
Walkers &endash;
www.countrywalkers.com
• Cox
& Kings &endash;
www.coxandkingsusa.com
• Deeper
Africa &endash;
www.deeperafrica.com
• DuVine
Adventures &endash;
www.duvine.com
• Escape
Adventures &endash;
www.escapeadventures.com
• Exum
Mountain Guides
www.exumguides.com
• Geographic
Expeditions &endash;
www.geoex.com
• International
Expeditions &endash;
www.ietravel.com
• Journeys
International &endash;
www.journeys.travel
• KE
Adventure Travel &endash;
www.keadventure.com
• Kensington
Tours &endash;
www.kensingtontours.com
• Micato
Safaris &endash; www.micato.com
• Mountain
Travel Sobek &endash;
www.mtsobek.com
• Myths
and Mountains &endash;
www.mythsandmountains.com
• Natural
Habitat Adventures &endash;
www.nathab.com
• Nomadic
Expeditions &endash;
www.nomadicexpeditions.com
• O.A.R.S.
&endash; www.oars.com
• Off
the Beaten Path &endash;
www.offthebeatenpath.com
• REI
Adventures &endash;
www.rei.com/adventures
• ROW
Adventures &endash;
www.rowadventures.com
• Scott
Walking Adventures &endash;
www.scottwalking.com
• The
Wayfarers &endash;
www.thewayfarers.com
• Thomson
Family Adventures &endash;
www.familyadventures.com
• Thomson
Safaris &endash;
www.thomsonsafaris.com
• Trek
Travel &endash;
www.trektravel.com
• Tui
Tai Adventure Cruises &endash;
www.tuitai.com
• VBT
Bicycling Vacations &endash;
www.vbt.com
• Volcanoes
Safaris &endash;
www.volcanoessafaris.com
• Wild
Frontiers Adventure Travel &endash;
www.wildfrontiers.co.uk
• Wilderness
Scotland &endash;
www.wildernessscotland.com
• Wilderness
Travel &endash;
www.wildernesstravel.com
• Wildland
Adventures &endash;
www.wildland.com
• Zegrahm
& Eco Expeditions &endash;
www.zeco.com
Established in
1990, the Seattle-based ATTA
(www.adventuretravel.biz) is a global
membership organization dedicated to
unifying, professionalizing, promoting and
responsibly growing the adventure travel
market worldwide. ATTA members include
tour operators, destination marketing
organizations, tourism boards, travel
agents/agencies, guides,
lodges/resorts/attractions, media and
service providers. Host of the ATWS, the
ATTA provides professional support,
development, education, research,
marketing, career building, networking and
cost-saving resources to its
members.
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