TripAdvisor executive heads PATA board

BANGKOK Pacific Asia Travel Association announced the appointment of Sarah Mathews, TripAdvisor’s head of destination marketing in Asia Pacific,  based in Hong Kong SAR as the new chairperson of its executive board.

She replaces Andrew Jones, who was elected chairman in May 2016 and remains a member of the executive board as its immediate past chairman.

Mathews has been an active PATA member since TripAdvisor joined the Association in 2012, attending nearly all PATA events as either a speaker or delegate.

Picture: L/R: Hiran Cooray, Chairman – Jetwing Hotels Sri Lanka; Stephen Pearce, Vice President – Marketing at Tourism Vancouver; Peter Semone, Senior Advisor – Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH), Lao PDR; Pairoj Kiatthunsamai, CFO – PATA; Dr. Chris Bottrill, Dean at the Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management – Capilano University, Canada; Sarah Mathews, Head of Destination Marketing Asia Pacific – TripAdvisor; Andrew Jones, Guardian – Sanctuary Resorts; Ben Montgomery, Director of Business Relations Management, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand; Jon Nathan Denight, President and CEO – Guam Visitors Bureau, USA; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director – Macao Government Tourism Office, Macao SAR; Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO – PATA; Mohamed Sallauddin H.j. Mat Sah, General Manager Marketing – Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Malaysia, and Anthony Lau, Executive Director – Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR.

She first joined the PATA executive board when she was elected the industry council chairperson in 2014 and was elected vice chairperson in May 2016. Her relatively fast climb through the ranks, is understandable considering the power TripAdvisor wields over global travel.

Commenting on her appointment Mathews said: “Our executive board this year is an example of PATA’s diversity and expertise. With experts from both the private and public side on this year’s board we will continue the efforts of PATA across the world.”

She leads the destination marketing sales team at TripAdvisor, for the Asia Pacific region.

Prior to joining TripAdvisor, she held MICE and international marketing positions at the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Visit Flanders.

During the PATA Annual Summit 2017 in Negombo, Sri Lanka, PATA also elected a five new members to its executive board including Chris Bottrill, dean at the Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management – Capilano University, Canada; Hiran Cooray, chairman – Jetwing Hotels Sri Lanka; Jon Nathan Denight, president and CEO – Guam Visitors Bureau, USA; Mohamed Sallauddin H.j. Mat Sah, general manager marketing – Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Malaysia, and Peter Semone, senior advisor – Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH), Lao PDR.

Other Executive Board members include Stephen Pearce, vice president – marketing at Tourism Vancouver; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director – Macao Government Tourism Office, Macao SAR; Pilar Laguaña, Chairperson, PATA Micronesia Chapter, Guam, and Ben Montgomery, director of business relations management, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand.

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