Weekly Chapter Update: New Student Chapter and Three Great Events to End 2011

Author: Ben Montgomery
Posted: Thu 8 Dec, 2011 12:13 PM

New PATA Student Chapter in the Netherlands Shapes Up

I am happy to report that a new PATA Student Chapter is shaping up at Saxion University in the Netherlands.

Forty-five students attended a lecture at the university on December 6 by Bert van Walbeek, PATA Board Member and PATA Thailand Chapter Chairman. The lecture was on trends and developments in Asia. It was followed up with an introduction of PATA and the Student Chapter. Ton Hens, Chairman of PATA BeNeLux Chapter was there to present the Chapter. The reactions of the students were very positive.

After the session, 14 students put themselves forward to join a volunteer Chapter organizing committee. The variety of nationalities is diverse. Interested students are from Germany, Latvia, Greece, the Netherlands and Romania.

Many of the students joined Bert and Ton afterwards for a drink and a more informal chat, which was very much appreciated.

Three Great Events Before End of 2011

Before the end of the year, there are three PATA events which I would like to share with you.

First one is the first PATA Hub City Forum which will kick off in Hong Kong next Monday, December 12 at the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel right after AFA/PATA Industry Leader Luncheon. The theme is “QUALITY: a valuable destination.” The two-hour forum will be a prototype for a travel industry dialogue which PATA is taking on the road to six hub cities in 2012.

Special guest speakers are PATA members: Hong Kong Tourism Board, Plaza Premium Lounges, Hong Kong Disneyland and IPSOS/Synovate. They will share best-practice tips and trade secrets on marketing to the affluent sector. There will be an open floor discussion on trends and a panel discussion moderated by TIME Travel Editor Liam Fitzpatrick.

This will be an important session for the high-value, high-yield tourism sector in the face of low-margin mass tourism and low cost carrier models. There will be business and marketing angles plus latest trend data to be gleaned. This event allows PATA members to share their expertise, knowledge and, more importantly, to build up the business network and provide access to key industry leaders.

The registration fee is HK$350 for PATA members and HK$550 for guests. To book, please contact Elva Chan at tigerbay.elva@gmail.com. Tel: (852) 2586-1399. For further information, click here.

After the forum, we do hope the PATA Hong Kong Chapter will be up and running again.

For the second event, PATA CEO Martin Craigs and I are invited to join the PATA Macau Chapter Meeting in Macau on December 14. Martin will be speaking about “PATA Next Generation” and share his experience after six weeks at the PATA helm. We will visit the Institute for Tourism Studies where another new Student Chapter will likely be formed in the new year.

Last one for this year is very special. It is the first China Responsible Tourism Forum, which will take place December 16 in Beijing, China. The PATA China Chapter will officially be announced by PATA CEO, Martin Craigs with its new Chairman Jens Thraenhart and PATA Greater China Director Kate Chang in attendance. We would like to invite you to attend the forum, which has compelling discussion points, especially if you are interested in developing heritage tourism in heritage locations.

Guest speakers at the PATA Responsible Tourism Forum include Geoffrey Lipman, Director of GreenEarth.travel; Mei Zhang, Founder of Wild China; Dai Bin, President of the China Travel Academy; and Jens Thraenhart, President of Dragon Trail and Chairman of the new PATA China Chapter.

Download the CRTF Programme and Registration Form.

Join us if you can.