Empowering Youths for the Future at the Next PATA Youth Symposium
BANGKOK, September 17, 2020 -- The next PATA Youth Symposium, with the theme ‘The Future of Travel’, will take place alongside the first-ever Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020. This year’s Youth Symposium has been designed as four-part series taking place from September 22-25.
The event is organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in collaboration with Leshan Normal University with the support of the Guam Visitors Bureau, iFree Group, MAP2 Ventures, Myriad International Marketing, and Talent Basket.
“This  year’s PATA Youth Symposium has been tailored to provide the next  generation of young tourism professionals with industry insights,  mentorship opportunities and peer-to-peer inspiration. Furthermore, we  have organised a much-requested panel of HR experts from well-loved  brands to give youth advice on how to find their next job, particularly  during this current environment”, said PATA Youth Ambassador, Ms  Aletheia Tan. “We are extremely grateful to Leshan Normal University for  their support for both the event and the development of tomorrow’s  tourism leaders.”
“The PATA Youth Symposium is the perfect  opportunity for young tourism professionals to learn from today's  leaders but also, more importantly, for leaders and industry  stakeholders to hear from the future of the industry – the youths  themselves. Hence, the Youth Symposium is designed to initiate  constructive conversation and facilitate cross-cultural collaboration in  order to create a more responsible, inclusive and sustainable travel  and tourism,” added PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.
The first part of  the Youth Symposium, “The Future of Tourism”, opens with an  insights-packed keynote speech by Mr Hafizuddin Haslir, Regional  Business Development Manager, Euromonitor International on September 22  at 1200-1300 (GMT+8). Mr Haslir will be presenting on “Travel 2040:  Sustainability and Digital Transformation as Recovery Drivers”, and  explore how the industry must grapple with the fact that travel as we  know it is over. He will also provide insights into the latest outlook  for global tourism demand and its impact on travel, future travel  trends, and new sustainable technologies that will disrupt and transform  the industry. This session is open to the public and interested parties can register at the following link: http://bit.ly/PATAYouthSymposium2020_Part1.
The  second and third parts of the PATA Youth Symposium, Mentorship Session  and Student Chapter Roundtable Discussions, respectively, are by private  invitation only. The Mentorship Session has confirmed a total of 19  mentors from various sectors of the industry with representatives from  Myriad International Marketing, Guam Visitors Bureau, Khiri Reach, TTG  Asia, Catalonia Tourism Board and the International Air Transport  Association (IATA).
The Student Chapter Roundtable Discussions  provide an opportunity for PATA Youth to present their passion projects  from Academic Years 2019 - 2020. During this session, peer-to-peer learning and inspiration is at its highest with youths from around the  world representing their colleagues, universities and destinations on an  international stage.
During the fourth and final part of the  Youth Symposium, happening on September 25, 2020 at 1200-1300 (GMT +8),  HR Experts Orapin Musiknavabutr from Minor Hotel Group; Pinky Tan from  VISA Worldwide, and Savitri Meyer from Agoda, will down for a panel  discussion on “Getting a Job in a Post-COVID-19 World”. This session  will take a constructive look at the challenges and opportunities that  youths face, as well as how tourism jobs will adapt in the future, what  skills are predicted to be in high demand, and what resilience looks  like. This session is open to the public and interested parties can  register at the following link: http://bit.ly/PATAYouthSymposium2020_Part4.
The  PATA Youth Symposium is organised by PATA Youth Ambassador, Ms Aletheia  Tan, as part of the PATA Youth programme. For more information about  the programme and how to get involved, please email YTP@PATA.org.