Aotearoa New Zealand’s Trails – Connecting People, Places & Nature for Good
In this entertaining and inspiring slide show, storyteller and sustainable tourism advocate Sarah Bennett shows how Aotearoa New Zealand’s trails are connecting people and places for good – amidst the challenges of an overwhelmed and over-heating world.
Sarah Bennett, Director, Bennett & Slater
Typology of Hiking Tourism: A Multi-dimensional Framework
Hiking tourism has grown rapidly in scale and diversity, encompassing a wide range of practices, motivations, and meanings that intersect sport, tourism, and cultural traditions. However, existing research on hiking tourism remains conceptually fragmented, with limited integration across disciplinary perspectives. This presentation examines how hiking tourism has been conceptualized in academic literature and explores the need for a coherent typological framework that reflects its multi-dimensional nature.
Sai Ng, Professor, Chinese Culture University
Implementing Trails as Tourism Products: Insights from Brazil
This case study shares lessons from Brazil on structuring long-distance trails as tourism products. It explores how trails can integrate visitor experience design, local services, community engagement, and conservation objectives to generate local value and support long-term management.
Paula Rascao, CEO, eTrilhas
Ancient Paths, Living Stories: How Indigenous-Led Experiences Transform Trail Tourism
As travellers increasingly seek authentic, place-based experiences, trails are becoming valuable tourism assets that showcase the stories, cultures and communities of a destination while creating opportunities for collaboration with Indigenous communities. Drawing on Canadian examples, this presentation explores how Indigenous-led experiences can transform trails into meaningful cultural journeys that support tourism development and deliver benefits beyond the visitor economy. The session highlights how these experiences strengthen destination appeal, support cultural revitalization and Indigenous entrepreneurship, and foster meaningful partnerships between trail organizations and Indigenous communities. By placing Indigenous communities at the centre of the visitor experience, trails become more than tourism products—they become platforms for celebrating living cultures, advancing reconciliation, and creating memorable destinations.
Tara Saunders, Founder, Amu Consulting
