Embracing Hope: A New Year’s Journey Awaits!

It’s difficult to comprehend that yet another year has reached its conclusion, and as I look back on 2024, it’s a blend of everything – the positive, the negative, and the unpleasant. However, what has resonated with me most in these last few days is how HOPE continues to uplift us each day. In spite of the hurdles – the disputes, the separations, and the overwhelming nature of all the challenges we encounter in our diverse endeavors, organizations, and locations – hope remains present.

Hope was evident when I participated in the Destination Accelerators at our gatherings in Quito, Kitzbühel, Asheville, and Panama City – where the most significant and selected topic for discussion was, “How do we draw the appropriate type of responsible traveler?” This change is groundbreaking when you consider it. Until recently, numerous tourism expansion strategies solely focused on boosting the overall number of visitors, which as we all recognize, is not a comprehensive metric of the worth travelers can contribute, and if left uncontrolled, can result in troublesome pressures for local populations. 

Hope arose when I joined our Climate Innovation Conference in Bergen and Ålesund, Norway, where I discovered advanced technologies and creative methods to confront climate change. There, I heard experienced operators remark, “You know, this is the first time in a long while that I’ve felt some hope for the future,” and observed industry leaders fully commit and engage with the initiatives ATTA has been undertaking with Tomorrow’s Air.

Hope emerged when I listened to an ecolodge operator in Fiji during AdventureNEXT recount Cyclone Winston, which ravaged the area nearly a decade ago. It completely dismantled their operations and facilities, yet they endured and confronted adversity with resilience – they are now back on their feet due to their unyielding resolve to rebuild. 

Hope was present when I learned about a tour operator in Fiji who approached the U.S. and British embassies during the pandemic and requested financial support as business had entirely dried up. The embassy staff devised a plan to employ the operator and his guides to transport doctors to villages. Consequently, they were able to extend medical assistance to isolated regions, and his business managed to endure through the crisis.

Hope and joy flourished in the experience of co-creating the song “Unidos en la Aventura” alongside the band Making Movies and hundreds of members from across the globe in Quito, Kitzbühel, and Asheville. The message and elegance of the song is distinctive to all of us, the ATTA community!

Countless incredible tales of hope come to mind from this previous year, and I feel fortunate to have served in my role for the last 20 years with the ATTA and to have been blessed with the presence of all of you at our events and other international gatherings. That hope arises from the collective care and action that materializes when we unite, look out for one another, and bolster each other.

If things are going exceptionally well for you, I encourage you to think of those who are not in that situation and explore how to extend a helping hand, or create a positive influence on those surrounding you. Right within our very own adventure travel community, we have members grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Asheville and others enduring the horror of conflict in Lebanon and the West Bank. I recently learned about a small business struggling because a foreign mining operation has polluted their waterways and beaches, depriving them of a food source and damaging the outdoor space for visitors to enjoy. Another operator had to abandon his lodge in Myanmar for the safety of his family; he later received images from his neighbors illustrating military groups demolishing it. 

Gabi and I support an organization that assists refugees, and they recently sent us this message in the mail: 

“May we who celebrate the holidays in the warm glow of a home remember refugees who are sleeping outside tonight,

May we who gather around a generous table of food with friends and family remember those whose hearts are aching far away from those they cherish

May this season that honors peace on earth remind us to pray for those whose lives are upset by violence and oppression

Let us ACT and SPEAK on behalf of those whose hands are bound and voices muffled…”

I treasure working within this community of adventure travel professionals. You are the most compassionate, brave, creative, and considerate group of individuals in any industry I’ve ever encountered. Sharing meals with you all around the world this year has instilled hope in me for what we can achieve in the future, and I hope it has for you as well.   

As Thornton May stated at our second Adventure Travel World Summit back in 2006, “Your network will keep you secure.” I appreciate you all for being who you are, for being part of a collective force for good, and for supporting one another in community throughout the year.