Where are the TIGA’s teeth?

Pacific Asia Travel Association plugged into its new US$25,000 website, www.pata.org, yesterday, and it was bold enough to ask for feedback from the media.

Technically,  it is remake of the old website, but a pretty extensive one that goes back to the wire frame, operating systems, and the introduction of new software particularly for the members database and travel statistics.

Based on the public relations statements by the association, the media should have recognised the scent of a “fresh new look to the PATA website….with much improved content and functionality.”

Obviously, carried away by ths defining moment, the Pata copy writer continued: “This site is set to burst with ingenuity and innovation – and it’s also got teeth.”

The teeth were not initially evident on the home page, other than in a picture of a tiger. They are apparently a reference to a more user-friendly data base that should allow members to update their own records, while real-time tourism statistics would appear on site from the association’s own database as they are updated.

Following on from the dental analogy the press release focuses on the human arm. It noted the “Strategic Intelligence arm of Pata” has been at work. The arm, has apparently been busy creating what “techies” call a TIGA.

That is an acronym for Tourism Indicator Gateway Architecture, which leaves most of us none the wiser. The press release states that it is an interactive tool that ‘brings quantified changes in travel flow data to your fingertips, as and when you need it’. We are still none the wiser.

These bizarre claims will be hard to deliver and may one day come back to bite Pata in its strategic posterior, a part of the Pata anatomy that should be quite sore by now.

None of these heavenly claims are evident on the website you will browse today. Nothing tingles in the fingertips and there are few sign of any interactive flow of travel data other than a Google map on the home page that points to River Valley Road in Singapore. The significance of that was lost on me

Tiny TIGA created by the Pata strategic arm works behind the scenes to “link dynamically to the PATA databases – so visitors may access updates in real time”, fails to jump out of the page. It is hibernating probably exhausted by all the fuss over its premature birth.

TIGA, tagged a “tiger” on the Pata homepage turns out to be a tame animal with a very elementary graph of tourist arrivals in the Asia Pacific market that could not be used by serious students seeking meaningful data.

To put the launch into perspective, Pata’s communications department does state the “data and query options are limited,” but hold your breath PATA members you will soon be able to “access a far more detailed version as part of the expanding benefits package.”

There’s a request for media to offer feedback on the content of the new site, which is really a death wish in the making.

Our observations:

1. The site has been re-launched prematurely probably to meet the deadline of the April Annual General Meeting in Kuching, Malaysia.

2. Content has been culled to the extent that a Google search on milestone events in Pata’s histor,  over the last five years, leaves you with links to “error pages”. Documents with reference to former presidents and conference papers have been dumped in the cyber garbage bin, along with press releases that gave researchers an anchor on hallmark industry events or decisions. Even its foundation newsletters, references to important conference reports have been lost.

The logo of the Pata foundation, which serves as a link, on the communications department’s email, takes you to an error page. These disconnected links are the most damming of omissions. Pata has lost its archives and library, which means thousands of search links on Google and other search engines are now dead.

We asked for a comment on this omission. Pata said:

“In order to meet our launch date we have uploaded relatively little ‘ancient history, but this will be archived in due course. All old website info has been stored on disc. Members are also welcome to visit the library at PATA HQ”

3. The google map on the home page is redundant. It was stuck on River Valley Singapore with symbols that have no bearing on any home-page content.

4. Under networking, a click takes you to an adventure travel mart in Kathmandu that closed the first week of February. Where are the networking opportunities ?

5. The membership director is an improvement, but it is not helped by drop-down options that are hard to read and the fact that you have to back-track to the main page all the time to make a new search.

6. There is no evidence of any interactive features that were not present in the old version. The home page graphics identifying events, or news related to Pata, are an improvement, but it is still a long way from being innovative or cutting edge.

7. Re-engaging with the Chapters worldwide was a key objective of the new website, yet the sections are empty under all chapter categories in Europe, Pacific and North America with only cursory information available on four out of the 13 Asian chapters listed on the site.

Conclusion:

Contrary to claims, this site does not burst before your eyes with ingenuity and innovation. But it is a good example of the virtue of not blowing your trumpet, until you are sure the band has arrived on the stage.

Launched prematurely, it is best described as “pedestrian affair” and a far cry from the pre-launch talk that this was going to be a “Facebook” for Pata members and the industry’s ultimate networking site.