Five hours’ drive from the bustle of Barcelona lies the beautiful town of Vielha in the heart of Val d’Aran, deep in the Catalan Pyrenees. We had a chance to discover the local area thanks to the forest bathing Day of Adventure, one of several activities on offer at the Adventure Travel Trade Association's (ATTA) AdventureELEVATE Europe 2026. Finally, after gentle scolding from the guide, we walked in silence through the forest, already prepped on how to respond in case of a bear making an appearance. One mindful exercise followed another, including touch, sense and smell, gathering up whatever was on the forest floor to take it in.
Eyes shut, I picked up a pinecone – and through the mindful coaching of the guide, I was transported back to the forests of Roseisle in the north of Scotland, walking with my parents and their dog. Suddenly tears were streaming down my face as I remembered my parents who have sadly passed away. I had connected with the forest, with Catalonia, and the people around me. A hand was held out, offering to help me up. I knew this was a magical place with amazing people.
New Chapter Grounded in Purpose
This was my first event under my new business name, Caroline Bremner Associates. After publishing my book, I left Euromonitor International after 29 years to form my own research consultancy. ATTA's AdventureELEVATE Europe 2026 marked the perfect platform to launch my new business focused on travel data, trends and insights. What better event to speak at, where I had already experienced the power of ATTA twice speaking at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Chile 2015 and Italy 2018. How would it land with a more specialised audience, would they be welcoming? I need not have worried as I was embraced fully as part of the community where we all have a shared love of the right kind of tourism, steeped in balance, equity, and driven by purpose and passion.
Taking Centre Stage for the Art of Balance
Erik Blachford (Pine5 Ventures and former CEO of Expedia) and I were in charge of the closing plenary - a rabble-rousing finale about the Art of Balance. I took to the stage after the incredible jazz sounds of the Pantanal Jam from sponsors, Mato Grosso do Sul – the audience was buzzing with anticipation.
My slides outlined the tensions in play: growth vs degrowth, inequity vs extraction, AI friend or foe and the future of balance. How can we continue to double in growth over the next 25 years in passenger numbers, when already communities and destinations are saying ‘basta ya’ (enough already)? Consumers apparently do not care, but my argument was that they do: 85% of consumers say that sustainability is very important or important to them, according to Booking.com. There is always a say-do gap, but it is narrowing. Equitable business models like adventure travel create huge returns for local communities where 75% of tourism spending stays locally (ATTA). Yet, I warned that this figure has dropped in a year and is trending in the wrong direction – a warning call against complacency.
Where does future balance lie? I proposed tapping into multigenerational travel, targeting the 4 billion upcoming Generations Alpha and Beta, and leaning into adjacent sectors like wellness and sports - transforming into net positive travel.
Erik’s perspective was complementary, outlining the view from the boardroom, Silicon Valley style – geopolitics, climate change, macro-economics and growing inequality. He highlighted how the middle market is bottoming out, polarising towards budget and high end. Where we disagreed was on the speed of change. AI is driving exponential leaps forward – and not every business is there yet especially SMEs.
Uncomfortable Truths
Erik asked me which datapoints shocked me the most. There is 80% tourism leakage in emerging markets like the Pacific and Caribbean islands based on data from Travel Forward – to me this is criminal. And, only 10 winter destinations will be able to physically host the Winter Olympics by 2050 – this insight truly shocked me that the impacts of climate change are already being felt so acutely, with tangible effects for local communities and destinations.
Looking ahead, I expressed concern that the adventure traveller is ageing along with the operators, so travel businesses need to ensure to work with young people to pave the way for the next generation of adventure travel businesses.
A clear theme emerged during the Q&A from the floor – with questions regarding growing inequality and how to keep travel inclusive whilst taking steps to mitigate its carbon footprint. I asked, with Asia’s middle class rising, how can we tell Asian travellers that they cannot fly in the same way that the West has for decades? Another uncomfortable truth that must be addressed if travel is to remain fair and inclusive.
From Connection to Collaboration
From the moment of people gathering to wait for the transfer bus, the ATTA community is full of vibrant, diverse and inspiring people who love what they do. There is always a strong Scotland contingent who I now know much better. I already knew Marion from Evaneos so was delighted to be in the forest bathing adventure together, along with so many other wonderful folks – too many to mention.
Going forward, Sonia, Mayte and I are aiming to collaborate, with a podcast or webinar in the pipeline for travel chicas! One day I would love to walk El Camino with Alex at Fresco Tours and learn from the communities along the way whilst spending quality time with my family who are keen to join me. I hope that day comes soon.
Purpose, Passion and the Power of Community
What strikes me about the ATTA is its ability to not just create connections between people and places, but the durability of the ties. It is as if the community powers itself forward, garnering strength to tackle challenges and seize opportunities ahead. That is the power required to transform travel and tourism for lasting business success.
As Mayte, our event MC, taught us ‘fem pinya’ in Catalan – make a pinecone, let’s rally together. I can’t think of a better rabble-rousing cry to move forward with purpose, passion and balance.
Caroline Bremner is the Founder & Managing Director of Caroline Bremner Associates.