The PATA Tourism Strategy Forum 2008

‘Applying Tourism Research - Moving from Research to Strategy’

The inaugural PATA Tourism Strategy Event was held in Kunming, China, 30 October – 1 November 2008. The forum embraced five workshops covering the application and implementation of research in strategic business planning. It attracted nearly 150 international and China-based delegates from a broad cross-section of the travel and tourism industry including, amongst others, senior-level professionals from hotel groups, airlines, national and regional tourist offices, tour operators and consultancies.

Immediate post-event reaction to the forum, which was led by distinguished academic Dr Ian Yeoman, was very positive.

“The majority of delegates agreed or strongly agreed that the event provided them with a solid overview of the links between tourism research and marketing while 72% of delegates were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the PATA Tourism Strategy Forum. Some 73% of delegates would personally attend a future research/marketing focused PATA event,” says John Koldowski, Director – Strategic Intelligence Centre at PATA.

• The forum received a ringing endorsement from Mr Wu Hao, Counsel – Director General, Anhui Provincial Tourism Administration. “The PATA Tourism Strategy Forum was a professionally designed, well-organised and fruitful event that provided a global perspective on tourism research,” he says.

• Mr Saw Leong Beng, General Manager - Network Planning at Malaysia Airlines, observes, “Given the current challenging environment, keeping abreast with the latest research techniques and trends is vital for all the players in the travel and tourism industry. The forum was a very informative event with leading experts in tourism and hospitality research sharing their latest findings and views.”

• “This PATA event exceeded my expectations. I was impressed with the calibre of the delegates in attendance,” says Paula Fong, Senior Manager - Strategic Planning and Consumer Insight, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts.

• David Thexton, Partner at Insignia Research, says, "I was very impressed with the organisation of the PATA Tourism Research Forum. Delegates not only benefited from the presentation content but also from the interaction with industry colleagues.”

Plans are now under way to stage a similar event in 2009, although the theme and venue have yet to be confirmed.

“It’s clear that there is a real demand for this type of forum,” adds John Koldowski.

Forum Presentations

Friday 31 October 2008

Workshop 1: Macro trends likely to impact travel and tourism (PDF 2.6 MB)

Dr Ian Yeoman

Associate Professor of Tourism Management

Victoria University of Wellington

Workshop 2: Using research in marketing planning and execution (PDF 500 KB)

Mr David Thexton

Partner

Insignia Research