The Mountain Travel Symposium will expand to Europe next
year, with the launch of the European Mountain Travel Summit (EMTS).
EMTS will be the first expansion of the symposium, an event now
in its 42nd year. It is the single largest and longest-running annual gathering
of mountain travel professionals in the world. Northstar Travel Group, parent
company of Travel Weekly, acquired Mountain Travel Symposium in 2014.
“Extending Mountain Travel Symposium’s reach internationally
is a natural progression for Northstar as we continue global expansion with our
brands and events,” said Bob Sullivan, president of parent company Northstar
Travel Group. “Our goal is to bring together senior leaders to discuss critical
issues and challenges within the mountain travel industry, bring about
solutions, and in turn, make the industry more successful.”
The two-day EMTS event, to be held Jan. 10 to 12 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, is expected to bring together hundreds of
international mountain travel industry executives, with content focused on
market research, strategic marketing, and best practices and trends, according
to Michael Pierson, managing director of EMTS and the Mountain Travel
Symposium.
The event is being developed in partnership with Switzerland
Tourism. Attendees will be offered pre- and post-event Alpine skiing excursions.
“Switzerland as the original winter tourism destination with
over 150 years of history and Crans-Montana as a premier mountain resort in the
Swiss Alps provide the perfect setting for representatives of this industry to
discuss the future of winter tourism,” said Juerg Schmid, CEO of Switzerland
Tourism.