PATA Travel Mart 2013 in Chengdu

Bangkok: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announced that PATA Travel Mart 2013 (PTM2013) and PATA Board Meeting will be hosted by the City of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China in September 2013.

 Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO, revealed this at its PATA’s Executive Board Meeting on July 28, at the Hotel ICON, in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Deputy Director of Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration Mu Tao, together with other officials from the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition and the Chengdu Culture & Tourism Development Group gave briefings on Chengdu’s advantages in terms of geographical location and meeting facilities.

As the leading travel event in the Asia Pacific region, PATA Travel Mart brings together hundreds of international buyers and sellers in one marketplace and offers opportunities for travel industry stakeholders to build their business through pre-scheduling appointments, dynamic education programmes and social functions. Following Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Macau, Chengdu is the fourth Chinese city to win the bid to host PATA Travel Mart, and will be the first city to host PTM in Midwest China.

Eng João Manuel Costa Antunes, PATA Chairman, said: “It is refreshing to see the increasing involvement of China in the organisation of PATA key events. The successful bid of Chengdu to host PTM2013 is very meaningful, not only because it will be the first time for a main event of the association to travel to the Midwest of China, but also because Sichuan will be able to show to Asia-Pacific travel industry stakeholders its rich tourism resources and the amazing reconstruction works done four years after the devastating earthquake.”

PATA CEO Martin J Craigs, said “PATA has been working closely with Chengdu in many capacities over the past years including the development of tourism training, co-branding a seminar on global tourism trends and destination marketing. We are confident that Chengdu can attract a good quality and quantity of international visitors as well as buyers to PATA Travel Mart 2013. This is another great reason to join the PATA next generation family and build your business.”

Deputy Director of Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration, said “Hosting PATA Travel Mart will boost the Chengdu’s brand and image; it will also spur the continued growth of the business travel and exhibition economy. Chengdu is one of the China most multi-faceted tourist cities with abundant and innovative MICE resources. In the urban area are Panda Base, Wuhou Temple, Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Kuan & Zhai Lanes are the most-visited attractions for international visitors. Mount Qingcheng, Xiling Snow Mountain, Tianfu town and other scenic areas are within one hour’s drive. In collaboration with PATA, we are confident we will host a particularly fruitful and memorable PTM in the City of Chengdu.”

PATA launches The PATA Hong Kong Chapter

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) launched of the new PATA Hong Kong Chapter on July 27at the Hotel ICON, in Kowloon, Hong Kong on the eve of its Executive Board meeting.

Hong Kong is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and a mature tourism destination with tremendous potential to contribute in a more structured way to the Association and its goal of building a responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism. It is the dedication and engagement of local chapter members that makes PATA a living organisation and ensures its continuity as we move towards the next generation.”

The Hong Kong Chapter is chaired by Mrs Linda Song, Executive Director, Plaza Premium Lounge Management Ltd. Song is one of three Hong Kong based PATA Executive Board members. The others are Mr Anthony Lau, Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board; and Prof Kaye Chon, Dean, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Eng João Manuel Costa Antunes, PATA Chairman and PATA CEO Martin J Craigs highly evaluated re-opening of the Hong Kong Chapter.

The PATA Hong Kong Chapter will meld a diverse range of travel and tourism segments. These include aviation, hospitality, tourism, media, academia, and government. Activities of the Chapter include seminars, network luncheons with guest speakers and industry conferences.

Mrs Linda Song, the Executive Director of Plaza Premium Lounge and the new PATA Hong Kong Chapter Chair said: “Knowledge sharing is important in elevating the quality of our local tourism service industries whilst preserving cultural heritage in an environmentally sensitive way. Our coalition of travel and tourism specialists is ideally placed to support balanced and value adding progress on vital tourism infrastructure such as the third runway at CLK.”

The PATA Chapter concept was formally adopted in 1957; its purpose remains its tools to communicate change. The PATA Next Gen concept aims to continue to bring people together face to face whilst also intelligently using social media and new communications technology. There are currently 41 Chapters and six Student Chapters across America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Source : PATA