The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has published its first Sustainability & Impact Report, analyzing the contributions the adventure travel association has made towards advancing sustainability in 2024.
The report lays out five major areas of change: its membership sustainability commitment, which encourages tour operators and other members of ATTA to adopt sustainability practices; the success of AdventureEDU, ATTA’s online training program; Sustainable events ATTA hosted throughout the year; the impact of its climate initiatives and sustainability fund; and the completion of ATTA’s full carbon accounting cycle.
“This report is a snapshot in time of our progress,” said Gustavo Timo, ATTA’s President. “But more importantly, it’s a living commitment to keep learning, improving, and taking action alongside our global community.”
Membership Sustainability Commitment
Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association are encouraged to take the Membership Sustainability Commitment, a program that includes ATTA’s Sustainability Resource Center and access to other partnerships that help small, medium and large businesses make actionable changes towards sustainability.
AdventureEDU
ATTA’s AdventureEDU education training program provided over 4,000 hours of training for tourism industry professionals from across the globe, with courses focusing on rural tourism, community entrepreneurship and other sustainable tourism models.
Over 2,500 students in over 50 countries have studied with AdventureEDU since its launch in 2012.
Sustainable Events
As a global association that routinely hosts events throughout the year, ATTA is focused on reducing waste and supporting local communities as part of its Sustainability at Events Checklist.
Some of its achievements include choosing certified green destinations, like K3 KitzKongress in Kitzbühel, Austria, a certified “Green Location” for its AEEU event.
Climate Initiatives and Sustainability Fund
ATTA’s Tomorrow’s Air climate initiative has helped remove 310 tons of CO2 from the air and reduced an additional 200 tons of emissions from the use of sustainable aviation fuel in the past five years.
Its Sustainability Fund, which focuses on conservation and education, launched last year. It raised $48,800 in its first year, which was equally invested into climate education and action.
ATTA also established the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, which is a partner of the program 1% for the Planet.
ATTA’s Carbon Accounting Cycle
ATTA’s first full carbon accounting cycle was completed in 2023 in a partnership with ecollective. After it counted all of its emissions produced in that year, the organization was able to measure the changes in emissions based on the sustainability changes it was making that year.
The association found a 12 percent drop in emissions compared to the year before, more than its initial reduction goal of between 5 to 10 percent.
Looking Ahead to the Future
The association has begun the process of B Corporation certification, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
