BANGKOK, 5 June 2019: Pacific Asia Travel Association honoured hospitality and travel executives recognising their contributions to the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.
Awards were presented during the recent PATA Annual Summit 2019 in Cebu, Philippines.
The top awards were: PATA Life Membership, PATA Chairperson’s Award, PATA Face of the Future Award and a PATA Honorary Membership Award.
“This year’s recipients embody the spirit of cooperation that is essential to the success of the industry,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy. “I would like to congratulate all the winners for their valuable contributions and also thank them for their continued support to both PATA and the travel and tourism industry.”
The PATA Life Membership was awarded to Elly Hutabarat, president director – Pantravel, Indonesia. The award is the association’s highest individual honour and recognises significant leadership and invaluable dedication to PATA.
Hutabarat is currently the president director at Pantravel, and chairperson at Ayuberga, general sales agent for Saudi Arabian Airlines.
The PATA Chairperson’s Award was presented to PATA Life Member, Dato Haji Azizan Noordin.
Dato’ Haji Azizan Noordin was the former chief executive officer of the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA).
He has served in various leadership roles including heading the Tourism Malaysia overseas offices in Seoul, Korea (ROK) and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The PATA Face of the Future award for 2019 was presented to Flori-Anne Dela Cruz, youth representative to the Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) Board of Directors. This award is presented annually to an exceptional ‘rising star’ in the industry, having exhibited initiative and leadership in the advancement of tourism and sustainable development of the Asia Pacific travel industry.
Flori-Anne Dela Cruz, was recently appointed by the newly elected Honourable Governor of Guam, Lourdes Leon Guerrero, as the youth representative appointed to the GVB Board of Directors.
The PATA Honorary Membership Award was awarded to Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, secretary, Department of Tourism, Philippines, as recognition to the host of the PATA Annual Summit 2019.
