Pata promises PR campaign

Regional association says it has a recovery plan up its sleeve once the virus scare is in check.

Pacific Asia Travel Association has promised to host a recovery campaign for member countries once the swine flu is in remission.

Pata chairperson, Phornsiri Manoharn, confirmed the association was planning to a new campaign to help revive Asia Pacific travel industry once the latest health scare type A (H1N1) influenza virus is in check.

She was speaking at a Pata press conference last Monday, held in Bangkok at the close of the association’s executive committee meeting.

Ms Phornsiri gave no further details on the campaign, but said it was in the association’s long term plan adding that Pata was currently monitoring pandemic. As soon as the outbreak was under control, the association claims it will roll out the PR campaign to support recovery.

“It is an on-going project similar Project Phoenix that Pata launched in 2003 following the SARs epidemic and also to support recovery after the tsunami in 2005,” Ms Phornsiri explained.

“We are in contact with the World Health Organisation and the UNWTO on this vital issue. For the time being, the association is monitoring the situation closely and helping members by exchanging and updating information,” said Ms Phornsiri.

Pata would have to find the cash to the fund the campaign at a time when it is dealing with declining membership revenue. It would probably require the hiring of an international public relations agency.

Meanwhile, latest forecasts from Pata for international arrivals to the region indicate that Southeast Asia could suffer a fall of around 4% in international arrivals this year, compared with 2008.

The association has revised forecasts for all Asia sub-regions for 2010. The initial prediction of a growth of 12.7% in international arrivals for Southeast Asia has been downgraded to 6.8% (compared to 2008).

Pata believes that the continuing spread of Type A (H1N1) influenza virus will further undermine the confidence of business and leisure travellers and prompt drastic preventative measures by national governments and other public and private sector organisations that could also hinder cross-border traffic.