PATA to host advocacy dinner in House of Commons, London

Wednesday, 24 October 2012 00:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will hold a travel industry advocacy reception and dinner at the House of Commons in London on 5 November.

Senior spokespeople and lobbyists will attend the dinner, with Guest of Honour Andrew Rosindell MP, Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, and keynote speaker Gloria Guevara, Secretary of Tourism, Mexico.

“PATA and leading travel industry advocates will debate issues that will lead the travel industry towards what I hope will be a declaration of interdependence,” said PATA CEO, Martin J. Craigs. “We wish to demonstrate in the ‘Mother of Parliaments’ that travel and tourism has an increasingly united voice and is a force for good. So don’t abuse it. Nurture it.” The reception dinner takes place at the start of the World Travel Market in London.

Craigs added, “Now it is time for a global travel coalition to unite and define an agenda of issues and obstacles that we need to address. Unfair taxation, ill-thought through carbon emission schemes, obstacles to tourism visas, and other issues are likely to feature prominently during the 5 November meeting,” he said.

The PATA reception in the House of Commons is the culmination of PATA Hub City Forums that the association held in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Beijing this year. At each forum, travel industry leaders outlined issues that PATA and the travel industry should be taking positions on.

PATA, a not-for-profit membership association, has been based in Bangkok since 1998. It has achieved international acclaim as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

The association provides aligned advocacy, innovative events and in depth research to its members, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to over 40 local PATA Chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. The UK hosts PATA’s largest chapter with over 1,000 members.