14 Key Takeaways From Hybrid ATCM 2021
Hybrid ATCM 2021 took place online and in-person at Clark, Pampanga from May 26-27, 2021. Over the course of two days, we learnt about some of the most pressing topics and trends in adventure travel and responsible tourism. If you missed any of the sessions from the event, you can rewatch them on demand on the event platform's Programme tab until June 25 or through our YouTube channel at anytime.
Here are 14 key takeaways from Hybrid ATCM 2021:
Welcome Remarks by Philippine Department of Tourism
Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Philippine Department of Tourism
1. Adventure tourism is being increasingly recognised as a global tourism trend and tourists will be shifting their attention to new destinations and experiences.
2. The Philippines learnt a lot from its 6-month closure of Boracay in 2018. One lesson is that the tourism industry should pay more attention to destination management than destination promotion. For example, certain destinations should set carrying capacities.
3. The Philippines has started to create circuits in different provinces, which will connect attractions that are based on local cuisines and culinary heritages.
Delivering What the Next Generation of Adventure Travellers Want
Top L/R: Natasha Martin, Adventure Tourism Expert; Dan Sandoval, Co-Founder, Perspective China; Bottom L/R: Jessica Yew, Co-founder & Director, Sticky Rice Travel; Deeya Bajaj, Director of Operations and Business Development, Snow Leopard Adventures
4. Younger generations will be the ones to lead the recovery of adventure travel because despite not having priority to vaccines, this roll-out is still gradually taking place and the demand for global exploration has been so pent up.
5. The trend of growing disposable income and younger generations in China will be devoted to adventure tourism because it is a new way to show off their wealth and status. Since the pandemic, the destination has been seeing growth in adventurous products that were not domestically in demand, which implies that there will be a significant desire for these experiences internationally.
6. Particularly in Malaysia, the general segment of adventure travellers will be looking for soft adventures, such as camping and hiking. However, travel brands must keep in mind that price will be a significant barrier because of global exchange rates.
7. Indian travellers may be more hesitant to participate in adventure travel because of concerns from family members, but factors like higher incomes and the Bollywood effect, wherein young Indian travellers become inspired by Bollywood, have helped to relax this barrier.
Replay 'Delivering What the Next Generation of Adventure Travellers Want' >
Quick Fire Presentations
Top L/R: Erik Wolf, Founder & Executive Director, The World Food Travel Association; Leila Calnan, Sustainable Tourism Expert, Chemonics International; Bottom L/R: Sarah Mathews, Group Head of Destination Marketing APAC, Tripadvisor; Jeremy Sampson, CEO, The Travel Foundation
8. Instead of creating food guides and directories to help attract culinary travellers, it would be more effective to focus on your unique selling propositions, such as the faces behind the places, as well as seeking sustainable partners, selling the memories and stories of local foods, and keeping in touch with your past customers.
9. 65% of travellers want to see physical changes that make them feel safer before they start travelling again; therefore, destinations and travel brands should transparently share these efforts with customers.
10. In order to ensure a more equal recovery for all, we must keep women at the top of mind. This means engaging women in tourism, such as through retraining, upskilling, improving digital engagement, and providing leadership opportunities.
11. The segment deemed to be quality tourists come with the highest costs to local communities because of economic leakage. As a result, destinations and local communities will see more benefits through providing quality tourism instead of solely targeting that market.
Resiliency is the new sustainability
Top L/R: Dr Trevor Girard, Director of Standards & Accreditation, Hotel Resilient; Graham Harper, Advisor for Sustainability & Social Responsibility, PATA; Ann Dumaliang, Managing Trustee, Masungi Georeserve Foundation; Bottom L/R: Jessie F. McComb, Tourism Specialist, International Finance Corporation; Andreas Hofmann, Project Manager, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
12. Through an economic standpoint, small island destinations have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Many have done well from a health perspective because of border closures, but this came at the cost of entirely shutting down tourism, as most of them have small domestic tourism markets.
13. One of the most difficult things to trying to achieve sustainability and resiliency is the change of attitude. For example, we must shift from thinking in the short-term, such as from season to season, to planning for the long-term.
14. We must keep conservation as the compass of the destination, as this will influence the kind of plans, decisions, and developments that we make. If we can adopt this view alongside creativity, we can see some great outcomes.
Registration to Hybrid ATCM 2021 was complimentary for all delegates through the support of Philippine Department of Tourism (Platinum Sponsor). We are grateful for the support of Profi.Travel, Travel Daily News, Travelindex, TTG Asia, TTN Worldwide, and TTR Weekly (Supporting Media Partners).
In addition, thank you to all of our speakers and attendees that made Hybrid Adventure Travel Conference & Mart 2021 possible!
Rewatch the Hybrid ATCM 2021 sessions: PATA Hybrid ATCM 2021 Playlist
Visit the Hybrid ATCM 2021 event page: ATCM 2021