Khon Kaen (Thailand) – December 10, 2018 (travelindex.com) – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is set to organise the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand from November 27 – 29. The announcement was made by PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy at the conclusion of the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2018 in Khon Kaen, Thailand.
PDMF 2019 will be hosted by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) with the support of Pattaya City.
“It is an honour to be working with TCEB and TAT once again to organise the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2019 in Pattaya, which only highlights their commitment to the responsible development of the travel and tourism industry in Thailand. We are also excited to be working with DASTA and Pattaya city as we delve deeper into the issues of marketing and managing tourism growth in a responsible and sustainable manner,” said Dr. Hardy. “With plans for the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Pattaya is looking to reimagine itself as an international MICE City. Our aim for the event is to help understand their challenges and opportunities in reaching these goals.”
During PDMF 2018, Mr. Sutham Phetchgeat, Deputy Secretary of Pattaya City, stated, “Pattaya City is a unique place. On the seashore you can enjoy sea, sand and sun. I guarantee that the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2019 in Pattaya City will be fruitful. Pattaya City is going to become a regional, national and international MICE City. Special emphasis is placed on environment, security, infrastructure, and up-to-date means of mass communication. Pattaya City is going to become a new world class MICE City for Thailand and the whole world!”
Mrs. Supawan Teerarat, TCEB Senior Vice President – Strategic Business Development & Innovation, stated, “TCEB is proud and delighted to promote and co-organize the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2019, Pattaya City in Thailand. The event, which will serve as a driving force for international MICE events in Thailand, contributes to implementing the government’s policy of stimulating and developing the regional economy. Pattaya City is one of Thailand’s leading MICE cities, with strong potential and readiness to host international conventions to world-class standards. The city has already built a strong track record in hosting numerous high-profile MICE events.”
“The event will contribute greatly to raising visibility and awareness of Pattaya City and other regional MICE cities as international MICE destinations. At TCEB we are committed to supporting responsible, low-impact, sustainable growth in the MICE business, to harness MICE events to benefit local communities, and to drive inclusive economic growth across the country,” she added.
Mrs. Srisuda Wanaphinyosak, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas), said that the selection of Pattaya as the next year PATA Destination Marketing Forum venue is a great opportunity to enhance its status as MICE city and high-end destination with its convenient accessibility, new luxury accommodations and activities. Also, it supports the TAT Hub and Hook Strategy, with Pattaya as the region’s leading travel hub and hook to lesser known destinations in the East, such as Rayong, Chantaburi, Trat and eastern islands through tourism activities, fruits & foods, as well as, local experiences.
Mr.Taweebhong Wichaidit, Acting Director General of Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization) or DASTA, stated that DASTA proudly presents the new tourism perspectives of Pattaya City for MICE Market in the PATA 2019 event. Visitors will experience the hidden authentic charms of Pattaya local livelihood based on its natural & cultural identity managed by participation of community groups. The DASTA team has been working with local stakeholders in Pattaya for several years to gain their participation in learning, thinking, planning, implementing, and obtaining tourism benefits equally to ensure sustainable tourism management. Therefore, Pattaya has become one of our proud destinations for sustainable tourism management based on Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) which help repositioning Pattaya towards a Greenovative city with facilities for Tourism for All. We would like to welcome all delegates to enjoy the new tourism perspectives in Pattaya which you may be surprised and be delighted to experience like never before.
Pattaya is a popular place for both Thais and foreigners because the city has everything tourists need. Traveling there is easy as you can take your own car or ride a bus, a van, or a cab from Bangkok. There is also a ferry service from Hua Hin to Pattaya, which takes about an hour.
The city boasts an incredible variety of accommodations to fit all budgets, a diverse assortment of locations for creative meetings and incentives events, and three convenient and flexible exhibition centers designed with Thailand’s distinctive culture in mind.
About PATA
Founded in 1951, PATA is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as 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 more than 800 member organisations, including 95 government, state and city tourism bodies, 20 international airlines and airports, 102 hospitality organisations and 70 educational institutions, as well as over a hundred young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 35 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 22 PATA Student Chapters globally. Their local activities 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 and London.
