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Brian Young and Claire Brighton, of the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers, say next week’s conference can help stimulate the sector’s rebound. By Samantha Mayling


ouring and adventure “will come back with a bang – and this conference will be our biggest yet”.


That’s the confident prediction of


Brian Young, chair of the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers, who spoke to Travel Weekly ahead of the Atas Conference in Birmingham on October 19-20. The association is expecting a


record number of attendees, including more than 250 travel agents, along with operator members and associate members such as tourist boards. Young, who is also managing


director of G Adventures, says operators have seen sales rising thanks to the easing of travel rules – and agents are set to benefit from positive trends in the touring and adventure market. “People want experiences –


touring and adventure holidays can offer authentic experiences, which help clients get under the skin of a destination and explore off the beaten track,” he says. “From cooking classes to visits to


social enterprises and zipline rides, there is a huge variety of experiences. “Consumers always want beach


holidays but they cannot all do that for long – people want to be active; they’re inquisitive and kids want to do more. We’ll come out of this pandemic in a big way – people have realised that travel is special.” He says G Adventures has managed


to make bookings throughout the pandemic, thanks to repeat business from its loyal customer base.


10 14 OCTOBER 2021


The conference


will get people really excited and inspired – they can learn about products and get tips


“We have seen a lot of people


booking bucket-list holidays, such as a family safari, and achievement- based holidays, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro,” he says, noting that lockdown restrictions meant consumers developed a fresh appreciation for being outdoors, walking and spotting wildlife. He says searches have risen for


aspirational holidays, such as walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain or the Inca Trail in Peru, and to Everest Base Camp, and now those searches are turning into bookings.


Adapting to Covid-19 Like other operators, G Adventures had to adjust its products to adapt to the pandemic and try to understand the fast-changing needs of consumers – as well as develop protocols for issues such as social distancing, face masks and vaccine certificates. “Atas members came together


quickly; we operators were all in the same boat with the same challenges,” Young recalls. “Rather than come out with separate policies, it made sense to bring the policies together and look for commonality – and


tell the trade Atas was doing this. It was really good to be singing from the same hymn sheet and it boosted confidence for customers and agents.” Short-haul and domestic


holidays were introduced by many operators, and Covid-19 policies were developed, such as rules about seating on coaches and ‘bubbles’ of family and friends on group tours. G Adventures introduced activity


holidays such as hiking and trekking in Europe, showing clients a different side to mass-market hotspots such as Ibiza and Tenerife.


Better understanding Young says a platform such as Atas helps operators and tourist boards better understand each other’s needs. He says Atas operators need to


know about opportunities beyond the mass market – such as hiking trails in Madeira – while tourist boards welcome the chance for destinations to diversify their offering. “Madeira is known in the UK


for holidays that cater to the older demographic but in the US it is seen as an adventure playground,” he says. Atas and its members also lobbied


to tackle the problems caused by frequent changes to travel rules and the traffic light system as part of the Save Future Travel Coalition alongside groups such as Abta. Another area of common interest among Atas members is sustainability,


travelweekly.co.uk


Pictures from the last in-person Atas Conference, including (this picture) star guests Claire Sweeney and Aled Jones, flanked by then Atas chair Paul Melinis and Travel Weekly’s Lucy Huxley


‘Atas Conference can


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