By Meera Dattani
“When I ask for feedback from ATN events, one word that always comes up is fun.”
With these opening words from ATN founder and director Pru Goudie, the stage was set for the fifth (sold-out) Adventure Travel Networking (ATN) Conference at St John’s Church, Waterloo, a new venue for 2025, with 160+ delegates from around the world, 26 speakers, and 10 panels and presentations.
ATN25 Conference - Waterloo, Central London
From AI, B Corp and geopolitics to impact, railway travel and a fireside chat with Bruce Poon Tip, this was a day of conversation, ideas, and connections.
What’s trending and what’s ahead?
ATN Networking opportunities
Coffee. Tick. Pastries. Tick. 160 people in their seats. Tick.
Jono Vernon-Powell, chief moderator and founder of Nomadic Thoughts, welcomed a fuelled-up audience to the 2025 ATN Conference.
ATN Networking opportunities
Acknowledging the challenges of doing business in a changing market, he welcomed Roy Barker, co-founder and director of Spike Insight to present 2025 Market Insights & Adventure Travel Trends, based on recent research on behalf of ATN with 100+ experts in the adventure travel market.
Confidence was up on 2024 (52% more confident) said Barker, despite economic and political uncertainty. Classic destinations France, Italy, and India topped the list, with increased bookings for Morocco, Peru, Spain, and Uzbekistan; 27% reported a shorter booking window. Barker highlighted affluent 50-60-year-olds, the not-so-grey-pound; popularity of walking, wildlife, and solo holidays, with wellness and women-only also featuring; and the ‘essentialism’ of holidays: “People are more willing to forgo a new car.”
Respondents were polarised on AI, a significant number both ignoring and embracing it; changing customer behaviours are a greater concern. In the panel that followed with Vernon-Powell, Explore Worldwide’s marketing director Jae Hopkins, and Richard Skinner, joint managing director of Responsible Travel, Hopkins said, “Small-group travel with a local leader will not change; AI won’t change that.”
Skinner named India their number one market, and Hopkins cited increased interest in West Africa. “With overtourism, spreading ourselves thinly across the market is a good thing,” Hopkins said, while Skinner reported a rise in September and May bookings. Both reported along booking window from Black Friday sales through to February.
Challenging preconceptions
Perceptions of place was the hot topic in Beyond the Bedrock of Traditional Tourism, with Vernon-Powell, Hakim Tamimi, head of Jordan Tourism Board’s adventure unit, Rachel Lewis, campaign and partnership manager at South African Tourism, and Joseph Kabakeza, First Counsellor at the Rwanda High Commission.
From left: Jono Vernon-Powell, Joseph Kabakeza, Hakim Tamimi, Rachel Lewis
“We’re suffering because of what’s happening around us,” said Jordan’s Tamimi. “But we have more travellers from Asia, Southeast Asia and the Gulf. We promote heavily and there’s less ‘white people fear’. We need to position ourselves as a resilient place and market our greatest asset—our people.”
Kabakeza was keen to highlight Rwanda beyond mountain gorillas, citing the country’s nature tourism and culture. Separating tourism from politics is key, responding to a question about the previous UK government’s Rwanda Plan to process asylum seeker claims.
South Africa, with its own history, recent change of government, and Elon Musk’s controversial comments, powers on. “25-35-year-olds have fewer hang-ups than previous generations so it feels positive,” said Lewis, adding January UK arrival figures are 97% of 2019’s: “One of our largest groups is repeat visitors who’ve been 10+ times.” Exploring beyond Cape Town is imperative: “Cape Town doing its job a little too well!”
Signalling a new dawn?
The railway resurgence continues, as explored in All aboard the train moderated by Richard Hammond of Green Traveller Media with Sally Barlow, rail product manager at Fred Olsen Travel Ltd, Mark Smith, legendary founder of The Man in Seat 61, and Sarah Fussey, Inntravel’s marketing director.
Smith made conference attendees laugh, describing the bureaucracy of French and Italian authorities on a seemingly straightforward four-hour Nice-Milan route. He welcomed seamless journey-planning from Rail Europe and Trainline, increased competition on state-run routes, and acknowledged Eurostar’s challenges. “Some peak trains leave with 200 seats unsold deliberately—as they can’t process passengers,” referring to fingerprint and visas.
Richard Hammond, Sarah Fussey, Sally Barlow, Mark Smith
Group train travel isn’t easy, said Barlow, with so many different booking windows, and as for taking groups on sleeper trains... “I wouldn’t!” Fussey spoke of the challenges: “We have to convince people the journey is part of the adventure,” but ultimately, that’s where specialist operators come into their own, emphasising the appeal of lesser-known routes.
“I don’t think flying is going to get any more fun or sustainable,” said Smith. “The 21st-century traveller is discovering what the 20th-century traveller knew: An overnight 24-hour journey is better than 8 hours by day.”
Shout it from the rooftops—properly
Talking of sustainable, responsible tourism writer and consultant Holly Tuppen and Mirjam Peternek-McCartney, founder and CEO of B Corp company, Lemongrass Marketing, presented Communicating Impact: Why, What, and How.
Mirjam Peternek-McCartney, Holly Tuppen
Peternek-McCartney recommended we get familiar with the EU Green Claims Directive coming in 2026: “All ‘green’ marketing will need rigorous scientific backing,” she said. “Any UK-based tour op selling packages in the EU will have to comply with fines for companies found guilty of greenwashing.”
“Communicating sustainability improves brand trust and loyalty,” said Tuppen, suggesting the ‘See, Think. Do. Care’ model to identify the right stories, use good storytelling to eliminate dull or fluffy wording, ensure stories are rooted in fact, and be mindful whose story it is to tell.
“And instead of measuring by clippings, likes and shares, how about X percentage of articles and campaigns highlighting sustainability efforts, coverage secured without flying, or stories by underrepresented writers?” suggested Peternek-McCartney. “If we measure the same crappy old things, we’ll get the same outcomes.”
“As we rise, local communities rise.” The G Adventures story
No mincing of words during an animated fireside chat between Wanderlust’s founding editor Lyn Hughes In Conversation with Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures—but this was for those ‘in the room’. From his early days as a Toronto start-up to becoming a global brand, Poon Tip pulled no punches on the privilege of travel, workplace culture, and carbon offsetting, before discussing G’s Ripple Score to measure tourism leakage and the latest G Luxe product for active, older travellers.
Poon Tip also reminded the room that it’s people who make the ‘product’. He remains friends with G’s first guide Delfin, an Indigenous Quichua man from Ecuador whose homestay G still work with.
On that joyous note, lunch beckoned, a welcome brain-rest after a morning of scintillating conversation.
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The risk factor
No chance of a post-lunch snooze as Lloyd Figgins, former Overseas Security Advisor to the British Government, now CEO of The Trip Group advising organisations on risk, talked all things Geopolitics and the Impact on Adventure Travel. Describing a trans-Atlantic rowing expedition “with a bloke called Dave,” he told conference attendees that “every single thing we could encounter— ships, sharks, storms, waves—had been addressed in our risk assessment.”
Figgins advised keeping a close eye on global threats, but doesn’t believe the adventure travel industry will be greatly affected. What will change is cost. He recommended looking at geo- and eco-politics in tandem: “Who had turkey at Christmas?” he asked. “Your turkey has gone up 30% each year since the war in Ukraine started—because grain feed for turkeys is from Ukraine.”
Lloyd Figgins - CEO TRIP Group
His advice? Do your risk research: Geohazards, health, politics; Forecast better: Is it financially viable? Cover all scenarios: “Journey management plans do work.” Test your travel risk management system,” adding “A waiver is useless. If found guilty of negligence, they’d be looking to see if you breached duty of care.”
Destination-wise, he pinpointed Venezuela, El Salvador and Nicaragua: “When Venezuela was big, to its left was a no-go zone, but look at Colombia now—it’s booming. The Silk Road is another example of countries reaching their potential.”
For intel, Figgins suggests not relying only on government advice alone; get various sources. “Anyone in crisis management knows an hour’s lead is a huge advantage.”
The power of ‘default’: Shaping human behaviour
Human behaviour is always fascinating, as we learned in Driving impact through the power of behaviour change techniques, moderated by Holly Tuppen. Kicking off with a presentation by Gergana Nikolova, CEO and co-founder of BehaviorSMART, she drew on findings from their Chief Behaviour Officer, Milena Nikolova, PhD.
Holly Tuppen, Gergana Nikolova, Monica Malpezzi Price, Élise Bouhélier
With information overload, people make irrational decisions, she said. “Consider seat belts—it’s safety by design; there’s no option not to wear one,” said Nikolova. “So, make decisions for travellers that are low-impact, plastic-free and low-carbon. Make it effortless, exciting, and part of the experience.”
She was joined by Monica Malpezzi Price, co-owner of BikesPlus srl e ExperiencePlus! and President of ActiveItaly, and Élise Bouhélier, project manager of Tourism Bohinj DMO, both participants in BehaviourSMART’s ‘First Mile’ project.
Case in point. Malpezzi said they added local restaurants to their navigational software so locally run options pop up as soon as someone arrives somewhere, alongside listing public transport options above taxis to nudge decisions. Bouhélier’s case study was a self-catered lodge with high water consumption. “We changed shower heads and provided instructions for air-conditioning and sauna.” The result? A 30% reduction in water consumption—and 90% drop in maintenance costs. “If one small business can do that, imagine a destination with 800,000 overnight stays?”
As Tuppen said: “You have the data now, so you can say it works. We could reach an optimum place where no-one even needs to make the choice.”
Who is the adventure traveller?
Who are we marketing to? All eyes on Jasman Ahmad, strategy director at Accord Marketing for his engaging presentation: Marketing Adventure Travel in 2025 - How, who and what?.
Jasman Ahmad, Accord Marketing
Firstly, we need to separate adventure travel from touring, he said. Secondly, demographics are not important; behaviour is, he said. “We need to move beyond age to identify the adventure traveller.”
They travel more, are financially healthy, and more likely to travel with friends and pursue a hobby when booking. “The itinerary seals the deal,” he said. “For the average traveller, it’s more about accommodation.”
Ahmad noted changes in how adventure travel brands advertise: TV share is growing at expense of digital: “TV is great for brand awareness. It’s been pioneered by Intrepid who have pivoted beyond performance-based marketing,”
The B Corp debate
After a mid-afternoon coffee break, rehydrated attendees returned for the penultimate session. To B or Not To B asked moderator Richard Hammond of Thomas Power, co-founder and CEO of Pura Aventura and founding member of Travel By B Corp, Simon Heyes, founding director of Senderos, and Nadine Pinto, The Travel Corporation’s global sustainability manager.
Richard Hammond, Thomas, Power, Nadine Pinto, Simon Heyes
Senderos certified as a B Corp in May 2024. “Our impact is revelatory—we don’t own anything,” said Heyes. “So are we just sending people on holiday? No, we’re supporting biodiversity and conservation too.”
When asked by Hammond if too many B Corps devalue its currency, Power replied yes. “In a sense, B Corp should not exist,” he told the room. “Why should there be certification that says your business doesn’t screw the planet?”
But it’s not for everyone. “We’re not anti-certification, but we are 40 brands; it’s not a fit for our business,” said Pinto, suggesting other schemes you can replicate, such as the UN SDGs (Sustainability Development Goals). “We have a climate action plan, carbon review, decarbonisation investment—we say we’ve done X and Y in our annual impact report.”
Heyes agreed; “It doesn’t matter how you do it, just that you do it.” Power acknowledged the elephant in the room: “Our business is predicated by aviation. Yet airlines are one of very few industries that could never certify as a B Corp.” He welcomed new changes; minimum standards across all five pillars, and an emphasis on improvement during re-certification.
AI: Don’t get left behind
Closing the conference was a spirited Peter Syme, director of Disrupt Travel with his presentation, From Clicks to Compass: Technology’s Impact on the Adventure Traveller’s Journey. With AI's potential to disrupt traditional business models, can the industry adapt?
Peter Syme - Don't get left behind
“Can you adapt, and adapt quick?” he asked attendees. “By 2050, the travel sector will double—two billion more travellers. Travel is booming with adventure travel in the sweet spot of this trend.”
While the five stages of customer journey remain Dreaming, Planning, Booking, Experiencing, Sharing, how people interact with them is changing. “It takes 40 websites to get the booking—you have to invest in the Dreaming phase. YouTube travel videos will become bookable soon.”
“You don’t need to become AI-first,” he told the conference (cue, sighs of relief). But everyone will become more efficient, he said; being strategic is the winner: “AI can personalise trips, translate languages in real-time, and make travel safe.”
“Don’t get left behind,” he warned. “Get staff comfortable using these tools to make work, home and social lives easier.” Top tip? “Instead of Google as my homepage, I have ChatGPT—the more information you give it, the better it will be.” Less certain is the environmental footprint of AI, a question posed by Discover Adventures’ Jess Pitman. No clear answers yet.
It’s a wrap
“It’s testament to Pru for putting together a dynamic day,” said Vernon-Powell as he welcomed Goudie back to the stage. “It’s been great seeing people together,” she said, “and chatting intensely about panel sessions.”
ATN Networking Drinks Reception
With ATN’s growth, Goudie said a membership tier is on the cards, plus midsummer drinks, media meet-ups, and more. All that was left to do was applaud, stretch, crack open a tipple of preference, and mingle. People come for the panels, but off-stage conversations are as valuable, with new ideas, phone numbers and business cards exchanged throughout the day. Until 2026.
-Ends-
About the Author
Meera Dattani is a freelance travel journalist, and executive editor at Adventure.com commissioning features from writers/photographers around the world.
She focusses on community-led tourism, food/cultural heritage, soft adventure, and wildlife/conservation, and has written for National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust, BBC Travel, Condé Nast Traveller, Evening Standard, the i paper, and others. She is also Media Advisor to ATN, a mentor, awards judge, and speaks/moderates on panels for the likes of ATN, Women In Travel, IMM, and Destinations. In 2023, she founded TravelWritingWebinars to offer informal training for travel journalists, and is a former Chair/Board Director of the British Guild of Travel Writers.
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