PATA Unveils New Chair and Executive Board Line-Up at Korea Summit

Photo (L/R): Top Row: New PATA Chair Henry Oh, Chairman, Global Tours Ltd., and New PATA Vice Chair Ben Montgomery, Corporate Ambassador of Centara Hotels & Resorts.

Bottom Row: The members of the new Executive Board include Jackson Pek, Chief Corporate & Legal Affairs Officer, Amadeus; Maria Paz Alberto, President, Ark Travel Express, Inc.; Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Director-General, Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA); Shuichi Kameyama, Chief Consultant, JTB Tourism Research & Consulting Co.; and Dr Sharzede Salleh Askor, CEO, Sarawak Tourism Board.

Gyeongju, Korea (ROK), May 12, 2026 — The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce that Henry Oh, Chairman, Global Tours Ltd. has been elected as the Chair of the Association, following ratification at the PATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, May 12.

Following his appointment as PATA Chair, Oh said, “I am honoured to be elected by members of the PATA Board of Directors to take on this role. As the new Chair, I am committed to strengthening collaboration within the Association, while building partnerships across the industry, so that PATA continues to serve as a guiding force for our members and network.”

Alongside Oh, Ben Montgomery, Corporate Ambassador of Centara Hotels & Resorts, was appointed the new Vice Chair. 

Moreover, four new members of the Executive Board were ratified during the AGM. This includes Jackson Pek, Chief Corporate & Legal Affairs Officer, Amadeus; Maria Paz Alberto, President, Ark Travel Express, Inc.; Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Director-General, Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), and Shuichi Kameyama, Chief Consultant, JTB Tourism Research & Consulting Co. 

They will join Dr Sharzede Salleh Askor, CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board, who will remain a member of the PATA Executive Board.

Henry Oh is Chairman of Global Tour, Ltd., Korea (ROK)’s first private travel agency and one of the earliest Asian members of PATA. His strategic direction has earned the company both national and international recognition, including the Korean Government’s ‘20 Million Dollar Award’ and the ‘Tourism Pioneer Award’ from ITB Berlin.

Moreover, Oh has contributed significantly to advancing tourism development and international partnerships for Korea (ROK). He has built enduring collaborations with the Korean Olympic Committee and national sports federations, served on the International Relations Committee for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, and held a leadership role in Skål International Korea. 

Currently, he is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA).

Ben Montgomery, the New Vice Chair of the Association, represents Centara in various industry councils and associations. She currently serves as Vice President of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), a Board Member of the ASEAN Hotel & Restaurant Association, and represents Centara at the Joint Public & Private Working Committee to develop workforce capacity for Thailand’s hotel and tourism industry.

Moreover, she is also part of a working group of the Thailand Creative Tourism Think Tank and a Board Member of Burapa University’s Faculty of Tourism and Management. In the past, she contributed to the Thailand Research Fund under the Tourism and Hospitality Management Program (2014–2019), where she evaluated research proposals as part of an expert panel.

Before joining Centara, Ben once served as the Regional Director – Greater Mekong and Director of Chapter Development at PATA Headquarters.