PATA Foundation elects New Chair, Vice Chair and Trustees

BANGKOK - The PATA Foundation is pleased to announce the election of Peter Semone as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr Semone replaces Mario Hardy who has served as Chairman since June 2012. Mr Hardy was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in January 2014. He will continue to support and advise the PATA Foundation as needed.

Peter Semone said: “It’s an honour to be elected Chair of the PATA Foundation which has a proud history as a force for social good, heritage protection and human capacity building right across the region.”

Mr Semone currently serves as Chief Technical Advisor of the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (Lanith), a project being implemented under the auspices of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Lao PDR and Luxembourg. Lanith, headquartered in Vientiane, Lao PDR, seeks to improve the quality and competitiveness of tourism sector human resources in Lao PDR.

Prior to Lanith, he served as Team Leader of the Asian Development Bank-funded Mekong Tourism Development Project (MTDP) in Vietnam. MTDP focused on small-scale infrastructure development and capacity building measures in support of the tourism sector. Mr Semone also served as Vice President of PATA where he was responsible for directing its regional offices in Europe, the Americas, the Pacific and China and providing strategic leadership to PATA's many regional and global initiatives. Early in his career, Peter founded a destination management company, which managed shore logistics for major cruise ship visits to ports in Indonesia.

In addition, the PATA Foundation has elected seven new members to its Board of Trustees including, Dr. Chris Bottrill, Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management, Capilano University, Canada; Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR; Basant Raj Mishra, Executive Chairman, Venture, Travel (Temple Tiger) Nepal; Stewart Moore, CEO, EC3 Global, Australia; Stephen Pearce, Vice President, Leisure Travel & Digital Marketing, Tourism Vancouver, Canada; Inder Sharma, Chairman, Select Holiday Resorts, India; and Shukun Zhang, Dean, Tourism School of Hubei Vocational Technical College, Hubei, China.

Furthermore, Mr Jones, who has over 40 years experience working in a number of senior management and corporate positions in prestigious hotels, resorts and management companies worldwide, has been elected Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Mr Jones founded and became Guardian of Sanctuary Resorts in 1996. Sanctuary Resorts offers responsible and sustainable tourism experiences where people can balance their body, mind and spirit in an environmentally friendly space.

He is a leading proponent of corporate social responsibility and wellness in tourism, and believes in directly contributing to the community in which he lives. Mr Jones is also Chairman Emeritus of the KELY (Kid’s Everywhere Like You) Support Group, a Past President of the Rotary Club of Kowloon, and a supporter of numerous other Charitable organizations and Social Ventures in Hong Kong.

Existing members of the Board of Trustees include Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka; Gloria C Henderson, Travel Consultant, HNL Travel Associates, USA; and Nobutaka Ishikure, Chairman, Goltz et ses amis, Japan.

Photo caption : Top Row (left to right): Peter Semone, Chief Technical Advisor, Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality; Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR; Chris Bottrill, Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management, Capilano University, Canada; Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels Ltd., Sri Lanka; Gloria C Henderson, Travel Consultant, HNL Travel Associates, USA; and Nobutaka Ishikure, Chairman, Goltz et ses amis, Japan.
Bottom Row (left to right): Basant Raj Mishra, Executive Chairman, Venture, Travel (Temple Tiger) Nepal; Stewart Moore, CEO, EC3 Global, Australia; Stephen Pearce, Vice President, Leisure Travel & Digital Marketing, Tourism Vancouver, Canada; Inder Sharma, Chairman, Select Holiday Resorts, India; Shukun Zhang, Dean, Tourism School of Hubei Vocational Technical College, Hubei, China; and Kornchalee "Kay" Tantimongkonsakul, Manager - Internal Affairs, PATA.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews