PATA conference draws 550 tourism professionals

The growth of tourism in the Asia and Pacific countries, and in Malaysia has, no doubt, been contributed to some large extent, by the efforts of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.Yassin was inaugurating the PATA 2012 conference at Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. 

More than 550 tourism professionals from 38 countries have been attending the conference which is themed with “building the business beyond profits.”Top industry professionals will share their successful social entrepreneurship business models at the congress.

PATA, which is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry, also elected its new chairman and distributed its annual gold awards during the meet. 

“The charm of Asia and the Pacific irresistible to many. In 2011, 217 million international tourists came to the Asia Pacific region; compare this to the 22 million in 1980,” Yassin continued. “In 2011, we received 24.7 million tourists and tourism industry provides employment for 1.8 million people, where 15.9 percent of total employment is from the tourism sector”, he added. 

“Based on 2011 reports, tourism is currently the seventh largest industry contributing to the gross national income (GNI) after oil, gas and energy, wholesale and retail, palm oil and rubber, financial services, agriculture and electrical & electronics sectors” he added.“In Malaysia, we have 150 homestay clusters located all over Malaysia, with 3,211 operators offering 4,309 rooms.

A program initiated by the government, the homestay experience brings tourists back to the roots of Malaysian culture and lifestyle in the countryside. For the tourist, it is an experience of a lifestyle so far-removed from the modern trappings of city life which is rustic yet charming, full of warmth and sincerity.  In 2011, revenue generated from the homestay program alone was RM15.74 million ($5.2 million)” he said. 

“The main contribution of exports of services in 2011 is the result of income earned from travel by foreign tourists to Malaysia with a value of RM55.2 billion ($18.4 billion) or 51.7 percent of the total exports of services,” he noted in his speech.

“We subscribe strongly to the philosophy that tourism preserves, protects and conserves mother nature, heritage and culture,” Malaysia’s Tourism Minister Dr. Ng Yen Yen said during her welcome speech.

“I believe conclusions drawn from discussions between our speakers will provide invaluable guidance to travel trade players in driving the sustainable growth of the tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region,” she added.  “We have secured the 9th spot as most visited country in the world by UNWTO for the last three years in a row” Yen concluded.

“Aligned advocacy, mobile technology, business-building events, and crisis management readiness would define the association’s new operational mindset, which will be formally called PATA Next Gen” said PATA CEO, Martin J. Craigs during his speech at the PATA board meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the conference. He also explained the association’s energetic commitment to the “Next Generation”ways of doing things. 

PATA’s new chairman and director of Macau Government Tourist Office Joao Manuel Costa Antunes expressed wishes to see Dubai hosting the World EXPO 2020 to further bolster its role as a regional aviation hub and a premier tourist destination.He wished all the best for Dubai’s bid to host World EXPO 2020, speaking very highly of Dubai’s role as regional aviation hub and its tourism attractions.

While chairing PATA’s aviation committee meet, Peter Hoslin, head of airline marketing of Abu Dhabi Airports Company(ADAC), took issue with the recent move by European governments to mark up air passenger duty which he said would deal a another blow to air carriers as well as hospitality industries as a whole. 

“We are excited to host the conference as it coincides with tourism Malaysia’s 40th Anniversary.”The conference is an excellent platform to showcase Malaysia as a premiere tourist destination and to promote our new products and facilities to the world, said Azizan Noordin, Tourism Malaysia’s acting director general, in a media conference.

Source - arabnews