Presented by the Inder Sharma Foundation on 8 January 2026 at ITC Maurya, New Delhi
New Delhi | Wednesday, 3 December 2025:
PATA India Chapter is pleased to announce that the Inder Sharma Foundation will present the 4th edition of the PATA India Tourism PowerHouse, supported by Ministry of Tourism on 8 January 2026 at ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Recognised as one of India’s most respected knowledge and advocacy platforms for tourism, the Tourism PowerHouse brings together global tourism leaders, senior policymakers, and decision-makers from across India’s travel, hospitality, and destination ecosystems. The forum is designed to facilitate meaningful dialogue, share global best practices, and support strategic action to strengthen India’s destination competitiveness.
The Inder Sharma Foundation’s continued support is a tribute to the enduring legacy of the late Inder Sharma, widely regarded as one of India’s most visionary tourism entrepreneurs. His pioneering leadership, values-driven approach, and unwavering belief in India’s tourism potential have inspired generations of professionals. The Tourism PowerHouse reflects his core philosophy: that India can accelerate tourism growth by embracing global learning, objective data, and informed strategy.
The 2026 edition will be held under the theme: “Accelerating Tourism for Tomorrow: Powered by Data and Knowledge” The theme underscores the PATA India Chapter’s focus on equipping tourism stakeholders with high-impact insights and practical tools to navigate an increasingly dynamic global landscape. With India targeting a stronger global tourism position by 2030, and tourism playing a key role in the nation’s broader development vision, the Tourism PowerHouse 2026 will prioritise knowledge exchange, strategy-building, and global benchmarking to support sustainable growth.
PATA CEO Noor Hamid and Additional Secretary and DG Tourism Mr Suman Billa will be among the lead voices anchoring this year’s forum. They will be joined by an impressive line-up of global thought leaders including Dr. Senthil Gopinath, Prof Haiyan Song, Alan Merschen, Olivier Ponti, Anita Mendiratta, Matt Gibson, Ludwig Rieder, and Narzalina Lim.
Strategic outcomes
The Tourism PowerHouse is designed to deliver clear outcomes that support both national and state-level tourism priorities. It will enable global knowledge transfer through direct engagement with internationally recognised experts, while offering policy support for the Ministry of Tourism on aviation, crisis response, technology adoption, and destination competitiveness. The programme also focuses on building state-level capacity by helping states benchmark their strategies against global standards, strengthening India’s position on the world stage. It will enhance international visibility for Brand Incredible India and deepen public–private collaboration to accelerate tourism growth to, from, and within the country.
Powered by the vision of the Inder Sharma Foundation, this edition will build on the Foundation’s legacy of nurturing leadership, developing talent, and driving excellence across the Indian travel industry.
About PATA
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to advancing the sustainable growth and value of travel and tourism across the Asia Pacific region. Serving as a platform for collaboration, PATA brings together a diverse network of members from government, destination management organisations, the private sector, academia, and local communities.
Through industry intelligence, knowledge sharing, capacity building, advocacy, and networking, PATA supports responsible tourism development, strengthens destination competitiveness, and encourages innovation that benefits both visitors and host communities.
Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand,
Further details, including the programme agenda, speaker line-up, and participation information, will be announced shortly.
For media inquiries, please contact:
visit www.PATA.org.
Tentative Program
PATA India Tourism PowerHouse
9 th January 2026. Venue : Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi
09:30-10.00 hrs : Registrataion of Guests
10.00-10.10 hrs : Welcome by Mr SanJeet Secretary PATA India
10.10-10.30 hrs: Anita Mehndiratta (Moderator) in conversation with Additional Secretary & DG Tourism Dr. Suman Billa
10.30-13.00 hrs : Panel Discussion ‘Building Global Competitiveness’ moderated by Anita Mendiratta Former Advisor to Secretary General UNWTO and international media personality.
Panelists and Topics:
1. Mr. Olivier Ponti : Director Intelligence & Marketing – Forward Keys an Amadeus Company, Madrid ”Managing Data to Win in the Marketplace and Wooing the New Age Traveller”
2. Mr. Alan Merschen : Founder - MMGY Global and The Sigmund Project, USA
“Start to Success” Cornerstones of Destination Marketing Management
3. Mr. Ludwig Rieder : Directotr – Asia Pacific Projects Inc. Phillipines
“How Environment & Sustainable Governance Rewards Destinations”
4. Mr. Noor A. Hamid : CEO Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
“ Association Partnerships, Catalysts for India’s Tourism Growth Potential”
Panelists will make presentations of 10 min each followed by a panel discussion & a Q&A session
13.00-13.15 hrs : Wrap up by Dr Suman Billa
13.15-13.20 hrs : Vote of Thanks by Mr Jatinder Taneja, Treasurer, PATA India
13.20 onwards : Lunch & close of event
Tentative Program
PATA India Tourism PowerHouse
8 th January 2026. Venue : Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi
09:00-09:30 hrs : Registration of Guests
09.30-09.40 hrs : Welcome by Mr Vikram Madhok Vice Chairman PATA India
09.40-09.50 hrs: Opening remarks by Mr. Noor Hamid, CEO PATA
09.50-10.10 hrs: Keynote Address by Mr Srivats Krishna, Secretary Tourism, Government of India
10.10-10.30 hrs: The Mega India Growth Potential
Mr Noor Hamid - CEO PATA
10:30-11.15 hrs: Analysis of the growing India Opportunity
Prof Haiyan Song – Chair, School of Hotel & Tourism Management
HongKong Polytechnic University
11:15-12.00 hrs: Wooing The New Age Traveller
Olivier Ponti – Director Intelligence & Marketing, Forward Keys (Amadeus)
12:00-13.00 hrs: Building Destination Competitiveness
Alan Merschen – Founder, MMGY Global
13.00-14.00 hrs: Lunch
14.00-14.30 hrs: Why is Environmental Sustainable Governance an Imperative?
Ludwig Rieder – Director, Asia Pacific Projects Inc.
14:30-15.15 hrs: How Stakeholders Can Help Mitigate Tourism Crisis
Anita Mendiratta – Global Tourism Ambassador and Advisor UNWTO
15.15-16.00 hrs: Developing & Promoting India’s Year Round Appeal
Narzalina Lim – Former Tourism Secretary, Phillipines
16.00-17.00 hrs: AI for Global Competitiveness
Matt Gibson – CEO UpTHINK
17.00-17.20 hrs: Concluding Remarks
Dr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary & Director General Tourism, Govt of India
17.20-17.30 hrs: Vote of Thanks