Wednesday, August 21, 2024 The Pacific Asia Travel Association will host its first media conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, launching Pacific Asia Travel Mart 2024 in Bangkok. For the first time, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is set to organize a media conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), where it will present its forecast for regional travel and initiate new communication avenues with top global media and broadcasters. The gathering will serve as the precursor to the PATA Travel Mart 2024 (PTM 2024), scheduled to take place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok from August 27 to 29.
Celebrating its 47th iteration, the PATA Travel Mart stands as one of the most established international travel trade fairs in the Asia Pacific region. This year is particularly noteworthy as it commemorates the 25th anniversary of PATA’s presence in Thailand, enhancing the event’s prominence. The agenda also encompasses: Located in Bangkok, the FCCT is the leading hub for foreign journalists in Southeast Asia, featuring senior editors and reporters from major outlets such as BBC, CNN, the New York Times, The Economist, Nikkei Asian Review, the Singapore Straits Times, Bernama, Xinhua, and others.
“It is very important for PATA and the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry to reach out to global media, as the industry in the region has still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The operating environment, while generally positive, is still marked by pockets of turbulence. PATA is well placed to be a part of the solution, which makes it very critical at this juncture to take our message to a wider audience,” said PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid .
Mr Hamid said the establishment of this important channel of communication has been long overdue. “I believe global media can play a very positive role in helping us reach decision-makers at the highest levels in both the public and private sectors. Sharing PATA’s rich knowledge-base on regional issues and trends, plus toolkits of policy prescriptions on topics such as sustainability and technological change, will help many of the influential consumer, business and economic media better understand the challenges facing the travel and tourism sector and upgrade the quality of their coverage,” he added .
He mentioned that alongside the media conference, PATA has extended invitations to FCCT members to enroll in PTM 2024 and participate in the opening ceremony as well as the PATA Gold Awards Lunch and Awards Presentation. Additionally, they are permitted to access the trade show floor to engage with PTM buyers and sellers, provided they do not disrupt the business sessions. Mr.
Hamid expressed his gratitude towards the PATA Executive Board and Board for endorsing this key strategic communication initiative, giving a special nod to PATA Chair Peter Semone. He also acknowledged the Sanya Tourism Board for their cooperation in hosting the media briefing at the FCCT. He said the link with the FCCT will also help raise PATA’s profile in the region and give value-added benefits to PATA membership.
“Both the FCCT and PATA are based right here in Bangkok. Therefore it makes sense for us to forge a win-win partnership, using PTM 2024 as a launchpad. We hope to hold many more events at the FCCT in future.
PATA members visiting Bangkok are also welcome to hold media events at the FCCT, which PATA will be happy to coordinate.” He expressed optimism that the event would contribute significantly to the overall success of PTM 2024..
