Adventure Travel Trade Association welcomes Gergana Nikolova to its team as Development Lead – Europe

SEATTLE, WA, 2014-11-3 — /Travel PR News/ — To enhance support for its nearly 300 members throughout Europe and its increased engagement in responsible adventure tourism development throughout the region, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA; www.adventuretravel.biz) has added Gergana Nikolova to its team as Development Lead – Europe.

Nikolova is primarily responsible for business development, development agency relations, and sustainable tourism initiatives throughout Southeastern Europe. She joins Ulrika Larsson, ATTA Partnerships Lead – Europe, who concentrates primarily on business development throughout the Nordic and UK/Ireland areas, as well strategic partnerships within the European outdoor/travel gear and apparel manufacturing arena. In addition to contributing to the overall direction of the ATTA globally, Executive Director Chris Doyle centers his attention on the long-term adventure tourism development strategies throughout Europe, strategic partnership development and the region’s destination promotional agency/tourism board relationships. The three share the responsibility of serving additional European markets.

Based in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nikolova brings strong strategic planning and management experience that considers the multidimensional nature of the tourism industry as well as the complexity of the stakeholder network it involves. In addition to her native Bulgarian, Nikolova is fluent in English and speaks Russian, German, Spanish and Serbian. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from Sofia University, plus a graduate degree in Sustainable Tourism Management from The George Washington University School of Business in the U.S.

Nikolova’s work included a series of European Union-funded projects (in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey). Her most important engagement in the last few years was with the USAID Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) where she served as Regional Tourism Expert. She also led the National Geographic Maps Division team in the Balkans for the development of a regional promotional MapGuide portal (www.BalkansGeotourism.travel), an initiative that brought together several post-conflict countries in the Balkans to work together. Supporting similar strategies, Nikolova also has collaborated with the ATTA on AdventureEDUtraining in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013), Macedonia (2014), and on the ATTA’s first EuropeanAdventureWeek (in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia) in 2014.

About the Adventure Travel Trade Association
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) serves more than 900 members in 80 countries worldwide. Members predominantly include tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents and accommodations with a vested interest in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. The ATTA delivers solutions and connections that propel members towards their business goals and the industry toward a responsible and profitable future. Through its regional AdventureConnect events and annual Adventure Travel World Summit trade conference, the ATTA excels in professional learning, networking and partnering services. With expertise in research, education, adventure travel industry news and promotion, members of the ATTA receive competitive opportunities that help establish them as leaders in adventure tourism. (www.adventuretravel.biz)

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Gergana Nikolova

Gergana Nikolova