Macao (Macao SAR) – August 28, 2017 (travelindex.com) – AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes is set to speak at the forthcoming PATA Youth Symposium in Macao SAR, hosted by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). Organised by the Association’s Human Capital Development Committee, the Symposium takes place on Wednesday, September 13 with the theme of ‘Enabling Travel and Managing a Complex Future’.
Dr. Mario Hardy, PATA CEO said, “The PATA Youth Symposium is a cornerstone of our commitment to the next generation of young tourism professionals. We are honoured that Tony Fernandes has agreed to address tomorrow’s tourism industry leaders. The Association has placed special focus upon the Young Tourism Professional this year and the PATA Youth Symposium highlights our continued dedication to enhancing the knowledge and skills of students seeking careers in travel and tourism.”
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “These are exciting times for air travel in Asia. The low-cost revolution has made flying affordable and we are seeing more and more people fly for the first time. This creates opportunities as well as challenges for the region’s travel and tourism industry. What role will automation play? How do we ensure sustainable development of tourism? What are the constraints we will face as traffic grows? Are there enough low-cost terminals to cater for the fastest growing aviation segment? The PATA Youth Symposium is a great forum to discuss these questions and more, and I look forward to hearing what students have to share on the future of travel in Asia.”
Dr Fanny Vong, President of IFT, said, “As a long-term member of PATA, IFT is excited to host the 2017 PATA Youth Symposium. It serves as a platform for students to learn from the experiences and success stories of industry entrepreneurs and professionals. It helps students to keep abreast of changing trends and practices, and it provides important guidance about career opportunities. The field visit to the Macao Museum will introduce the rich culture and history of the city, followed by a bus tour to learn about Macao’s tourism development and challenges.”
The Youth Symposium takes place on the first day of PATA Travel Mart 2017. The programme was developed with guidance from Dr. Chris Bottrill, PATA Vice Chairman and Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies at Capilano University.
Dr. Bottrill said, “We are looking forward to facilitating yet another dynamic PATA Youth Symposium in September. It features the topic of enabling tourism and managing a complex future with globally- renowned leaders set to share their insights. As always, we will integrate their knowledge with perspectives of our future tourism professionals through a range of interactive sessions and seek to answer some challenging questions facing our industry. We are honoured to run the symposium at the Institute for Tourism Studies in Macao and we are looking forward to an engaging day with participants from around the globe.”
In addition to Mr. Tony Fernandes, confirmed speakers at the Youth Symposium include Dr. Mario Hardy; Ms Rika Jean-François – Commissioner ITB Corporate Social Responsibility, Competence Centre Travel & Logistics, ITB Berlin; Dr. Chris Bottrill; Dr Fanny Vong and Ms JC Wong, PATA Young Tourism Professional Ambassador.
The symposium includes plenary talks on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Automation in the Tourism Industry: Is C3PO taking our jobs?’; ‘Where Does Responsible Travel Fit in our Future?’ and ‘Enabling Air Travel for All: How Air Asia has Become the World Leading Low Cost Carrier’. The event also features an informal chat with Tony Fernandes and interactive roundtable discussions on ‘What opportunities and challenges do you see in enabling greater volume of travel?’ and ‘What role do human’s play in managing a responsible industry in the future?’
The PATA Human Capital Development Committee has organised successful educational events at various institutions including UCSI University Sarawak Campus (April 2010), Institute for Tourism Studies (September 2010), Beijing International Studies University (April 2011), Taylor’s University, Kuala Lumpur (April 2012), Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila (September 2012), Thammasat University, Bangkok (April 2013), Chengdu Polytechnic, Huayuan Campus, China (September 2013), Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai Campus, China, (May 2014), Royal University of Phnom Penh (September 2014), Sichuan Tourism School, Chengdu, (April 2015), Christ University, Bangalore (September 2015), University of Guam, USA (May 2016), President University (September 2016) and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (May 2017).
For further information, please view the programme here or email HCD@PATA.org.
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 of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which 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.
About Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT)
Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 101 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 8 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. In 2017, IFT became the world’s first higher education institution to pass International Quality Review (IQR) from the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). IFT has been ranked by the “QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017” as the 2nd best higher education institution in Asia in the field of hospitality and leisure management and the 18th best higher education institution in this field in the world. In addition, IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
