Bangkok (Thailand) – October 15, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The inaugural Pacific Tourism Insights Conference (PTIC), which takes place in Port Vila, Vanuatu on Wednesday, October 25, is set to address key opportunities and challenges facing the region’s public and private sector tourism organisations.
Planned and implemented by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in partnership with the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) and the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) the conference opens with a keynote address on ‘cathedral thinking’ from Rick Antonson, author and former CEO of Tourism Vancouver.
The conference programme, divided into five sessions, also features presentations from international tourism experts and thought leaders including Dr Mathew McDougal (CEO – Digital Jungle); Sarah Mathews (PATA Chairperson and Head of Destination Marketing APAC at TripAdvisor); Stewart Moore (CEO – EarthCheck); and Carolyn Childs (Director – MyTravelResearch.com) who will be making her presentation via video. The conference is being supported by BBC World News with both panel discussions being moderated by international correspondent Phil Mercer.
PATA’s Regional Director – Pacific Chris Flynn, the driving force behind the conference, said, “We are looking forward to welcoming the region’s tourism ministers to what we believe will be a ground-breaking event for Vanuatu and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation. It was the amazing vision of tourism industry professionals working in the Pacific nearly 70 years ago that led to the formation of PATA. This inaugural conference reflects our determination to continue to support the region’s tourism industry in concert with our regional partners.”
Delegates will hear welcome remarks from both SPTO Chairwoman Sonja Hunter and PATA Chairperson Sarah Matthews, followed by an opening address from the Hon. Joe Yhakowaie Natuman, Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism.
Closing remarks will be made by Dr. Mario Hardy, PATA CEO. The closing address will be given by Christopher Cocker, CEO of SPTO.
About PATA
Founded in 1951, PATA is a not-for-profit membership association that acts a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 95 government, state and city tourism bodies, 25 international airlines and airports, 108 hospitality organisations, 72 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 36 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA’s membership in Uniting Travel, a coalition of the world’s major Travel & Tourism organisations dedicated to ensuring that the sector speaks with one voice and acts in unison on the major issues and includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney and London.
Contact:
PATA
Paul Pruangkarn
Director – Communications & Marketing
communications@PATA.org
+66 (02) 658-2000
Bangkok, Thailand
