The Premier Industry Event for Active & Adventure Travel Trade	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Andrea Hutchinson Tel. 203-878-2577X117 MAILTO:ahutchinson@adventureexpo.com ADVENTURE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUMTM ANNOUNCES TOP SPEAKER LINEUP – EXPERTS TO OUTLINE STATE OF ADVENTURE TRAVEL INDUSTRY (August 2, 2006,) – MILFORD, CT – The Adventure CouncilTM, in collaboration with the Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE) has announced its speaker lineup for the first Adventure Travel Professional Symposium (ATPRO), September 8 and 9, 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The event is being held in conjunction with THETRADESHOW, the premier event of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and The Travel Institute’s National Forum. ATPRO is the first adventure travel industry event specifically focused on delivering timely market information and strategic business solutions for today’s active and adventure travel professional. Topics will include experiential travel, nature and heritage tourism, sustainable tourism, culinary travel, family adventures, active vacations and more. Fran Farrell, Publisher National Geographic ADVENTURE will deliver the Opening Keynote Address, The Adventure Travel Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges. This will be followed by a panel discussion entitled The Future of Adventure Travel: A 100 Billion Dollar Industry in Search of an Identity. Joining the discussion will be Yiannis Skevis, President, Aegean Adventures, Richard Edwards, Executive Director, Trusted Adventures, Nadia Le Bon, Director of Special Programs, Mountain Travel Sobek and Alexander Souri, President, Relief Riders International. Richard Weiss, Principal, R. Weiss and Associates John Canning, Yahoo! Media Group, will moderate the panel on, Staying Ahead of the Curve: Harnessing Innovation and Information Technology for More Effective Marketing and Sales. joined by Leo Le Bon, Founder Mountain Travel Sobek and Wanderlust Travel Marketing, James O’Leonard, CEO, Peak 15 , Amber Hayes, CEO, Adventure Engine and other prominent IT travel experts. Costas Christ, President of the Adventure Council and Judging Chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, will deliver the Luncheon Keynote, How Responsible Tourism is Transforming the Travel Industry. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organization will moderate a discussion on Destination Success Stories: How States, Regions and Countries are Positioning Themselves in the Expanding Active and Adventure Travel Market including distinguished professionals in the industry such as Edward Bergman, Executive Director, Africa Travel Association, David Brown, Executive Director, America Outdoors, Yiannis Skevis, President, Aegean Adventures and Fran Farrell, Publisher, National Geographic ADVENTURE. Jim Sano, CEO, Geographic Expeditions will serve as the moderator for Preparing for the Unknown: Health, Safety, Security and Risk Management for Adventure Travel Operators. He will be joined by Tom Zavadsky, Executive Vice President, Travel Guard, Greg Takehara, Vice President, The Berkeley Group, Nadia Le Bon, Director of Special Programs, Mountain Travel Sobek. ADVENTURE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUMTM Add One Travel agents will be directly impacted by the subsequent panel discussion The Changing Value Proposition for Travel Agents: How to Effectively Sell Adventure Travel in a Changing Marketplace. The panel is being led by Kathy Sudeikis, President, American Society of Travel Agents with contributors John Golicz, CEO, Adventures in Travel Expo, Edward Bergman, Executive Director, Africa Travel Association, and several leading adventure travel specialist agents. Day Two of the Symposium will include concurrent, highly interactive round-table sessions with industry experts, including Brian Mullis, President, Sustainable Travel International, Jill Birkett, Vice President, Unicomm, Keith Sproule, former Chairman of the Board, The International Ecotourism Society, among others. Topics include: * Experiential Marketing: Moving Beyond FAM Trips * Selling to Special Interests: (Women’s Travel, Culinary Tourism, Family Adventures, and other Niche Markets) * Travel Philanthropy, Sustainable Tourism and the Creative Economy * “What’s Hot” in Adventure Travel: Emerging Trends and New Destinations ATPRO sponsors include Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, National Geographic ADVENTURE, Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), The Travel Institute, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Rainforest Alliance, Yahoo!’s Richard Bangs Adventures and Sustainable Travel International. The Adventure Council/ATPRO Advisory Board includes some of the world’s most distinguished travel experts and professionals: * Costas Christ, ATPRO Conference Chair; President, The Adventure Council * Fran Farrell, Publisher, National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine * Roger Dow, President, Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) * Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Operations Officer, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) * Richard Bangs, Yahoo!’s Richard Bangs Adventures * Brian Mullis, President, Sustainable Travel International (STI) * John Golicz, Chief Executive Officer, Adventures In Travel Expo (ATE) * Richard Edwards, Executive Director, Trusted Adventures * Yiannis Skevis, President, Aegean Adventures * Hon. John Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister, Belize * Hitesh Mehta, Director of Ecotourism E.D.S.A. * Kathy Sudeikis, President, American Society of Travel Agents For more information on attending Adventure Travel Professional Symposium, please visit http://www.adventuretravelpro.com or call 203-878-2577 x125. Check the website for other prominent speaker names being added. About The Adventure Council The Adventure Council™ mission is to actively promote and grow adventure travel that is responsible and sustainable and in so doing, help to protect the character, authenticity, and diversity of adventure destinations worldwide. Charter members include, National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine, Sustainable Travel International, Caribbean Tourism Organization, CC Africa, Trusted Adventures and FrequentTraveller.com. For more information, please visit: www.adventurecouncil.com IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Andrea Hutchinson 203-878-2577 x117 ahutchinson@adventureexpo.com ADVENTURE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM SET FOR ORLANDO, FL, SEPTEMBER 8-9, 2006 Focused on the current state and future of adventure travel; designed for active and adventure travel professionals, tour operators and destination officials seeking to enhance their market position. (June 6, 2006) – MILFORD, CT – The Adventure CouncilTM, in collaboration with the Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE) has announced it will host the first Adventure Travel Professional Symposium (ATPRO), September 8 and 9, 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida in conjunction with THETRADESHOW, the premier event of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and The Travel Institute’s National Forum. ATPRO is the first adventure travel industry event specifically focused on delivering timely market information and strategic business solutions for today’s active and adventure travel professional. This highly focused event will provide a forum for senior tourism leaders, tour operators, destination marketing organizations, CVB’s and specialized travel agents to network and learn about the latest trends in adventure and active travel including market conditions, risk management, emerging destinations, sustainable tourism, integrated sales and marketing strategies, information technology and industry integration. The Symposium will deliver a high level conference program featuring tourism leaders, speakers, experts and adventure travel visionaries. Symposium attendees will gain invaluable advice on increasing adventure and active travel bookings, strengthening product offerings, expanding revenue and a better understanding of one of the fastest growing segments of travel and tourism. The core symposium programming will focus on providing travel and tourism professionals with a comprehensive overview of the state of the market for active and adventure travel along with an understanding of new industry trends and developments. Specific, “actionable” take home strategies to build new sales channels and to increase and accelerate bookings will be an important focus of both conference and keynote sessions. A highlight of the event will be the free flow networking meetings and moderated roundtable discussions enabling speakers and attendees to engage in a dynamic flow of ideas and information on new and expanding industry trends. Topics will include experiential travel, nature and heritage tourism, travel philanthropy, culinary travel, family adventures and active vacations. Dynamic keynote presentations include “The Adventure Travel Revolution : Opportunities and Challenges ” by Fran Farrell, Publisher, National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine, “Succeeding In Any Economy” by national marketing icon Peter Montoya in a joint keynote with the Travel Institute’s National Forum, and “How Responsible Tourism is Transforming the Travel Industry” by adventure travel visionary Costas Christ, among other speakers. Following keynote sessions, ATPRO attendees will break out into interactive roundtable discussions facilitated by industry experts. “Adventure travel continues to be a major growth area in the global tourism industry. Understanding the latest trends in adventure travel and learning how to effectively market to an expanding intergenerational audience is key to the success of travel professionals today,” said Costas Christ, President of the Adventure Council and ATPRO Conference Chairman. “ATPRO will focus on key topics ranging from marketing and information technology to sustainable tourism and travel philanthropy. This will be the most important gathering of its kind for the adventure travel community in 2006,” added Christ. ATPRO is organized and developed by the Adventure Council in partnership with Adventures in Travel Expo. Sponsors include National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine, Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), The Travel Institute, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Rainforest Alliance, Yahoo!’s Richard Bangs Adventures Media Group and Sustainable Travel International. This unique alliance of industry organizations assures a solid networking opportunity for all attendees, and an unprecedented exchange of information on the state of active and adventure travel today. The Adventure Council/ATPRO Advisory Board includes some of the world’s most distinguished travel experts and professionals including: * Costas Christ, ATPRO Conference Chair; President, The Adventure Council * Fran Farrell, Publisher, National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine * Roger Dow, President, Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) * Ufi Ibrahim, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) * Richard Bangs, Yahoo!’s Richard Bangs Adventures * Brian Mullis, President, Sustainable Travel International (STI) * John Golicz, Chief Executive Officer, Adventures In Travel Expos (ATE) * Richard Edwards, Executive Director, Trusted Adventures * Yiannis Skevis, President, Aegean Adventures * Hon. John Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister, Belize * Hitesh Mehta, Director of Ecotourism E.D.S.A. For more information on attending Adventure Travel Professional Symposium, please visit www.adventuretravelpro.com or call 203-878-2577 x125. About Adventure Council The Adventure Council™ believes the earth’s cultural and natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to enjoy the challenges, rewards, and educational value of adventure travel. Our mission is to actively promote and grow adventure travel that is responsible and sustainable and in so doing, help to protect the character, authenticity, and diversity of adventure destinations worldwide. Charter members include Adventures in Travel Expo, National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine, Sustainable Travel International, Caribbean Tourism Organization, CC Africa and Trusted Adventures. For more information, please visit: www.adventurecouncil.com