PATA names regional director

BANGKOK, 16 January 2012: Pacific Asia Travel Association appointed Ivy Chee as a regional director-Asia, last week. She officially begins work at the Bangkok HQ of PATA today.

Ms Chee will be responsible for promoting membership and building opportunities for members in Asia excluding Greater China.

She moves from the regional travel booking website, Wego in Singapore, which has enjoyed a long association with PATA. Read more

PATA and Ridgway part company

BANGKOK 9 November 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association and its recently appointed regional director Asia, Reid Ridgway, will part company effective 30 November.

Reports surfaced, last week, that Mr Ridgway had either quit, or had  held discussions  with the CEO  regarding a  mutually agreeable exit.  PATA Communications told Phuket News yesterday that it does not comment on human resources or employment matters that remain confidential.

He was appointed 21 July by the interim CEO, Bill Calderwood, who returns to Australia this month after working for the associations for nine months.

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Transparency comes first

SINGAPORE, 25 October 2011 – The Secretary of an Indian dental association says that transparency is a critical factor in both earning membership trust as well as in winning bids for international conventions to visit a host country.

Speaking at a session on business and trade associations during the ITB Asia trade show here last week, the Indian Academy of Aesthetic & Cosmetic Dentistry secretary, Ajay Kakar, said his appeal for transparency on major internal operations issues such as finances had initially met with stiff resistance from the directors but is now “winning rave reviews.”

It is also attracting the attention of India’s 22 other medical associations who are seeing the advantages of moving away from a culture of minimum disclosure, cronyism and personal gain.

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PATA CEOs flash the cash

 

BANGKOK, 21 October 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association is spending a packet funding travel expenses to send two CEOs to the World Travel Market in November.

PATA communications states that both the incoming CEO, Martin Craigs and interim CEO, Bill Calderwood, will conduct media interviews at the World Travel Market, next month.

They will both be in London to stir the debate on Europe’s proposed emissions trading system and the United Kingdom’s existing air passenger duty tax, that they claim will damage tourism to the Asia Pacific region. Read more

Asia Pacific travel improves

BANGKOK, 30 September 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association released its preliminary statistics for international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific destinations for July 2011 showing a year-on-year increase of 7%.

PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre notes that the growth rate has become more stable following the global economic recovery phase, which started in early 2010 and peaked in June of that year.

Asia has continued to show healthy expansion. For the first seven months of 2011, international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific have grown 5%. Within Asia, South Asia is leading the pack growing by 14%, with Southeast Asia up 12%, Northeast Asia up 4% and the Pacific region up 1%.

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Curtain falls on PATA essentials

BANGKOK, 13 September 2011 – Pacific Asia travel Association will take its annual PATA Travel Mart back to Manila, Philippines in September 2012, after an absence of 33 years.

The association’s chairman, Hiran Coorey confirmed the 2012 event would be held, 25 to 28 September, at the SMX Convention Centre, the largest private venue in the Philippines and one of the flagship establishments of the country’s MICE industry.

It will be the first PATA Travel Mart in the association’s history to be outsourced to a third party, a company that is currently being established by the association’s deputy CEO office of marketing services, Sheila Leong. Read more

PATA goes for a clean sheet

BANGKOK, 5 September 2011 – Heavy-duty restructuring is under way at the Pacific Asia Travel Association as it prepares to “start off with a clean slate” before the announcement of a new CEO at the annual PATA Travel Mart in New Delhi next week.

Three of its regional directors in Europe and North America will not have their contracts renewed as of October, two staff in the Strategic Intelligence Centre have been “restructured” as of last month and five staff moved to the newly established marketing and membership services unit.

Two of PATA’s key membership-service functions –research/intelligence and events – are to be outsourced as of October to two companies to be set up by the two people who presently head these units within PATA itself, respectively John Koldowski and Sheila Leong. Read more

PATA and Guangxi signs MOU

BANGKOK, 29 August 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Guangxi Tourism Administration (GXTA).

The objective of the MoU is to strengthen cooperation in the sharing of research, intelligence, marketing activities and training as well as support the UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook in Guilin, China.

The signed of MoU was endorsed and exchanged, last week, by John Koldowski, PATA head of the Office of Strategy Management and Chen Jianjun, director-general of China Guangxi Tourism Administration during the 2nd Pan-beibu Gulf Think Tank Summit in Nanning, Guangxi, China. Read more

PATA Singapore Chapter cash challenge

SINGAPORE, 17 August 2011 – For the second year running, PATA Singapore Chapter, with the sponsorship of Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is offering cash prizes to travel and tourism organisations in Singapore for their most impactful productivity story. Entry submissions opened 15 August.

Companies across Singapore’s travel and tourism industry need to pitch their best productivity success story through a simple 1,500 word essay.

On the back of its inaugural success last year, the latest competition – entitled Our Productivity Story – features more cash prizes – a total of six worth S$36,000. The best two essays from each of the following three categories;  hotels, travel agents and others,  selected by a panel of judges, will qualify for the next round.

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Chiang Rai is now PATA’s 39th chapter

CHIANG RAI, 9 August 2011 – Chiang Rai’s travel industry representatives decided, Saturday, to establish a Pacific Asia Travel Association chapter, only the second in Thailand after the PATA chapter in Bangkok.

Around 16 representatives covering most of PATA’s membership categories such as government, airlines, hotels, travel companies and media were present at the meeting held at the Le Meridien Hotel.

Led by Chiang Rai Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports director, Channarong Suhongsa, the decision to establish a chapter was unanimous. Chiang Rai will become PATA’s 39th worldwide chapter. Read more

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