PATA 70th Anniversary: Looking Back from the Eyes of Nobutaka Ishikure
The PATA Life Membership Awards is given to nominated members who satisfied at least 8 requirements, including: being an active member of PATA for at least 10 years, being active at various levels of PATA, such as Chapter, Divisional and/or Board levels, has been cited for the quality of his / her contribution in tourism, professionally and within the individual’s community, and more. As a general rule, except for unusual situations, only one award is given in this category each year.
In PATA’s 70 years of history (as of the end of 2020), 119 members have been awarded this honour.
About Nobutaka Ishikure
Immediately after his graduation from Keio University, Tokyo in 1969, Mr Ishikure joined Japan Airlines (JAL) Tokyo Head Office. Having been stationed in NYC, Geneva, Osaka, London, Zurich, he served at managerial positions like Head of Tariff, and regularly represented JAL at IATA, AAPA, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Keidanren, and Japanese Employers Federation as the Chief Industry Affairs Officer of JAL.
As the Chairman of the Aeropolitical Committee at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mr Ishikure represented the airline industry through coordinating and implementing standards (such as e-tickets) and facilitating regulatory policies (such as competition regulations in Europe). After resigning from JAL Board, he was a visiting professor at several universities, advised and audited corporations on a voluntary basis, and served as a Board Member of organisations like the Japan Federation of International Tourism and Japan Lacrosse Association.
Mr Ishikure’s first involvement with PATA was through the PATA Japan Chapter in the mid 1980s, where he served as a Board Member and was later elected as its Chairman in 2003. Meanwhile at PATA Headquarters, he was a Board Member, Chairman of the Carriers Committee, and Chairman from 2005-2006. He also served as a member of numerous committees, including Nominating Committee and Honours Committee, and became the first Chairman of the newly created Supervisory Board-Finance. Mr Ishikure has been a Board Trustee of the PATA Foundation since 2006.
The 2006 PATA Annual Conference in Pattaya, as that was when I became the Chairman of PATA. It was a wonderful event with a big group of participants and typical Thai hospitality in a beautiful city - a good ol’ PATA event!!
Mr Ishikure (left) at PATA Annual Conference 2006 in Pattaya
Mr Ishikure (center) at PATA Annual Conference 2006 in Pattaya
The late Mr Alwin Zecha, who I met at a PATA conference in the 1990s, always guided me at PATA, such as what we should or should not do for Asia, the Pacific, and beyond. I was impressed by his knowledge, passion, energy, as well as non-selfish ideas and philosophies. He was stationed in Tokyo just after World War 2 and inspired how I should behave and act since that difficult period. We’ve shared so many memories together.
In December 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck beneath the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, generating a massive tsunami that claimed more than 230,000 lives across fourteen international destinations - one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.
PATA reacted to this very quickly and created the Tsunami Recovery Fund, as well as a manual on how to cope with disasters. This has become a Bible for the tourism industry.
In Japan, we benefited from these resources this on the occasion of the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011.
‘PATA’ is always a magic word. When I meet a person for the first time and mention that I’m involved with PATA, we always become friends very quickly.
