Event Spotlight: Adventure Travel World Summit 2026
35+ voices. Seven hours. One extraordinary adventure travel community.
There’s something special about a gathering where old friends greet you with a hug, new connections quickly become friendships, and people genuinely want to help each other succeed. That’s the spirit of the Adventure Travel World Summit, and Quebec City gave us an unforgettable setting for its biggest and best edition yet.
As the official podcast partner, Travel Trends was proud to return for our third ATWS Event Spotlight, recorded September 14–17, 2026. This one breaks a major record for our Event Spotlights: seven hours of conversations featuring more than 35 speakers from across the global adventure travel community, in mostly 15-minute segments you can explore at your own pace.
We kick things off with ATTA CEO Shannon Stowell and Board Chairman Erik Blachford, setting the scene for a remarkable few days. Marie-Hélène Hudon from Bonjour Québec shares the host destination’s perspective, while keynote speakers Leigh Barnes from Intrepid Travel and Aizaz Sheikh bring insights on the industry’s direction.
From there, we meet some of adventure travel’s fastest-growing tour operators, exceptional cycling companies, writers, destination leaders, and the technology and marketing teams helping these businesses thrive. These conversations bring together people building businesses, creating meaningful experiences and working through the challenges facing our industry. They share the trends they’re watching, lessons from their own journeys, and ideas to help you prepare for success in 2027.
Along the way, we reflect on what made Quebec so magical. From the Pre-Summit Adventures to the Day of Adventure, the shared experiences gave people a chance to connect long before they sat down for a meeting. That generosity, curiosity and love of adventure carried through the entire Summit. It’s what makes the ATTA community so special, and why so many of us keep coming back.
We close with ATTA President Gustavo Timo looking ahead to 2027, followed by Magí Castelltort Claramunt of Turespaña announcing next year’s host destination: Almería in Andalucía, Spain.
A heartfelt thank you to the ATTA team, our hosts in Quebec, and everyone who sat down with us and shared their time, stories and ideas. We hope these conversations bring a little of the Summit’s energy to wherever you’re listening, spark something useful for your business, and inspire you to join this incredible community next year.
Choose a conversation, discover someone new, and come along for the adventure. We’d love to see you in Spain!
Timestamps:
0m0s - Shannon Stowell, CEO, Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) & Erik Blachford, Independent Director & Board Chairman | ex-CEO Expedia/IAC Travel
18m48s - Marie-Helene Hudon, Director of Business Development, Trade & PR, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec (Bonjour Quebec)
28m42s - Kimberly Daley, Chief Operating Officer, Transcend Cruises
40m47s - Rodrigo Atuesta, Chief Impact Officer, Impulse Travel Colombia
52m33s - Nina Kokotas Hahn, Chief Strategist, VP of Marketing & Director of Content Strategy, Red Thread Strategy & Storytelling
1hr6m - Aizaz Sheikh, Marketing Leader, Aizaz Ventures Inc
1hr16m - Marcelo Meneses, Owner/CEO, Neotropic Expeditions
1hr32m - Jessica Canelo, Marketing Director, Chile Tourism Board
1hr44m - Rob Holmes, Founder and Chief Strategist, GLP Films
2hr1m - Matthew Newton, CEO, Leatherback Travel
2hr10m - Kay Allen, Manager Regional Marketing & Communications, Japan National Tourism Organization
2hr27m - Leigh Barnes, President North America, Intrepid
2hr55m - Christian Wolters, President for Canada and GM of Marketing for North America, Intrepid
3hr09m - Jessica Haire, Founder Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association
3hr21m - Stacey Funt, Founder, LH Adventure Travel
3hr32m - Isabel Hofman, Founder, Bike Odyssey
3hr44m - Carlos Pizarro Figueroa, Local Guide, ChiliTrip Tours
3hr52m - Marc Giraud, General Manager, Vanuatu Tourism Office
4hr4m - Josh Halpern, Chief Commercial Officer, TourOptima
4hr17m - Todd Smith, Founder & President, and Lis Larson, Senior Content & Marketing Strategist, AdventureSmith Explorations
4hr26m - Maria Elena Price and Monica Price, BikesPlus and ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours
4hr39m - Nic Shaw, Director, South African Tourism Services
4hr54m - Eric Segalstad, VP & Partner, Gondwana Ecotour
5hr04m - Marc Ruffet, Partner & Head of Growth, Go Beyond
5hr13m - Cari Gray, CEO & Founder, Gray & Co
5hr22m - Jared Alster, Chief Strategy Officer & Co-founder, Dune7
5hr38m - Al Check, Co-founder, Odyssey
5hr49m - Dale Schober, Founder & CEO, Radventures
6hr01m - Julie Thorner, President & Founder, LiquidSpark
6hr15m - Raffaele Di Biase, Co-founder, BirdsChile
6hr24m - Paloma Zapata, CEO, Sustainable Travel International
6hr35m - Gustavo Timo, President, Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)
6hr44m - Magí Castelltort Claramunt, Director, Turespaña
