Parks Canada is officially supporting the 2024 World Trails Conference, which takes place September 30 to October 3 in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
The World Trails Conference, organized by the World Trails Network, is being hosted by Trans Canada Trail. The event is poised to be a global gathering of outdoor enthusiasts, experts and advocates.
More than 100 speakers from around the world will engage in this year’s conference theme, “Connection to people, places and the planet,” presenting unique perspectives on the future of trails and their impact on communities, nature and well-being.
The conference is being hosted in North America for the first time.
“We are very grateful for Parks Canada’s support of the World Trails Conference and their continued commitment to supporting Canada’s nationwide system of trails,” says Mathieu Roy, Chief Executive Officer of Trans Canada Trail.
“Parks Canada has played a vital role in helping us bring key stakeholders from the global trail sector to Canada’s capital this fall. The World Trails Conference will provide a unique opportunity to put our country’s natural beauty front and centre for an international audience and we are thankful to Parks Canada for their help making it a reality.”
Since its founding in 1992, Trans Canada Trail has received more than $100m of investment by successive federal governments. In 2022, the Government of Canada announced a renewed funding commitment of $55m over five years to continue supporting Canada’s nationwide trail system.
Parks Canada representatives will be taking part in the World Trails Conference in various ways, including panel discussions, break-out sessions, and specialized workshops. Parks Canada will also be leading an experiential workshop along the Rideau Canal National Historic Site pathways.
Notable keynote speakers at the conference will include award-winning filmmaker and director of “500 Days in the Wild” Dianne Whelan, Canadian conservationist Harvey Locke, and EUROPARC executive director Carol Ritchie.
Founded in 2012, the World Trails Network is the largest globally representative and dedicated trails non-profit organization of its kind, consisting of trail organizations and professional trail experts, working collaboratively for the enhancement and betterment of trails around the world.
The first World Trails Conference was held in Jeju Island, Korea in 2010. Funding was secured to host a further four conferences on the island until 2015. In 2016, the event moved to Tottori, Japan. The 7th World Trails Conference took place in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
The conference is the only event of its kind that provides a global platform for trails from around the world. It is hosted in a different country every two years.
Trails represent a growing contribution to the world’s GDP, and play a significant role in adventure tourism and soft adventure in particular. Trails support more than a third of all adventure tourism activities, with hiking identified in 2017 as the single most popular adventure tourism activity in a survey by ATTA.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented 200% to 500% increase in trail users on many trails in certain regions.
