What’s Up With PATA Youth: May & June 2021
As the global tourism industry starts to see international movements again, PATA Youth have also been on the move to educate themselves and make an impact. From the months of May and June 2021, we have hand-picked three updates to share from the PATA Youth community. These include news from PATA UAE Higher Colleges of Technology Student Chapter, PATA India Christ University Student Chapter, and a thought-provoking webinar with IGLTA on LGBTQ+ tourism.
Check them out below, or you could read full updates from all of our PATA Student Chapters here!
PATA UAE Higher Colleges of Technology Hosted ‘COVID-19: New Digital Solutions for Recovery Webinar’
To understand how to find the balance between reopening to tourists and keeping the residents safe under the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sara Nunes of Higher Colleges of Technology Fujairah Campuses and the student chapter invited a lineup of distinguished panelists including Dr. Kashif Khalid from IATA, Dr. Mario Hardy, former PATA CEO, and Dr. Sandra Carvão from UNWTO, to share their insights from an industry professional’s perspective. The webinar, ‘COVID-19: New Digital Solutions for Recovery,‘ discussed on the tourism sector’s past and present imposed travel restrictions, recovery plans and new digital solutions for the industry, as well as the industry’s needs for resiliency.
Ecotopia 2021 World Environment Day
In celebration of World Environment Day, PATA India Christ University initiated a new event, ‘Ecotopia,’ to encourage global awareness and action to protect the environment. The two-day event from June 5-6 consisted of three competitions: Octavia (photography), No Justice, No Green (Article Writing), and Arlie’s Sword (Poster Making), which were aligned with this year’s World Environment Day theme of ‘Reimage, Recreate, Restore.’ The students revealed their unfiltered realities through photos, proposed possible solutions to the earth’s problem through articles, and showed how the dynamic youths could help restore the earth through artistic posters. The creative and inspiring initiative offered an opportunity to rethink the status quo and to start preparing to rebuild a better environment.
PATA Youth x IGLTA Webinar: Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers
How can we make the world a safer and friendlier place for all? Co-hosted by CABI and five PATA Student Chapters, PATA and International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) organised a webinar, ‘Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers,’ to discuss the elephant in the room – the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community still faces whilst travelling in the modern world. LoAnn Halden and Amine Gabbouj from IGLTA and Bella Vongvisitsin from Inclusive Tourism Asia - and a past IGLTA fellowship recipient - talked about the issues in LGBTQ+ travel, provided suggestions on how to ensure safety, and discussed what the industry could do to make travelling more welcoming for everyone.
The IGLTA fellowship, in collaboration with the PATA Youth programme, offers youth who are passionate in LGBTQ+ tourism a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to join a dynamic convention and connect with likeminded tourism professionals. Selected small business leaders, young professionals and students are given funding and mentorship to soar in the tourism industry with more support and less barriers. The application period ends on June 28, 2021. APPLY NOW!
