Travel
industry leaders will issue a rallying call for politicians and
government policy makers around the world to start “Embracing the
Complete Visitor Economy” at the PATA Annual Summit, which takes
place Friday April 26 in Bangkok.
Mr
Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO said: “If you want the travel and tourism
industry to be respected more, given more budget from Government
sources, and taxed less, we need to make the case forcefully. You are
invited to join the PATA Annual Summit to add your voice to the
uprising that's underway in the travel industry across the world.”
An
impressive list of speakers will add their weight to the complete
visitor economy agenda. From Associations, Organisations and NGOs,
Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO and speaker from WTTC
will be there; from Government, Gloria Guevara, Former Secretary of
Tourism, Mexico; Chen Tiejun, Deputy Director General, Hainan
Provincial Tourism Development Commission; from the private sector,
Abid Butt, CEO Banyan Tree Hotels
and Resorts, Ross Jackson, Head of Cross-Border
Business, APCEMEA, Visa Inc; Lothar R Pehl, SVP Operations and Global
Initiatives, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific;
Martin Verdon Roe, Global VP, Display Sales, TripAdvisor; Pansy Ho,
Managing Director, Shun Tak Holdings; Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai
Airports, UAE; Sorajak Kasemsuvan, President, Thai Airways
International; Anita Mendiratta, Managing Director - CACHET
Consulting/Lead consultant of the CNN TASK Group, and many more, will
all contribute their insights. TV anchor Monita Rajpal of CNN will
moderate.
Mr
Abid Butt, Chief Executive Officer, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts
said: “Governments and the public sector around the world have
recognised the importance of the visitor economy with reforms being
introduced to enhance this economic component. The importance of all
links understanding their role in this economic chain cannot be
overstated. The ability to attract foreign visitors and their
contribution to the local communities makes it a great enabler for
all countries. It creates and supports employment at all skill
levels, helps preserve local heritage and builds a strong sense of
place, providing better understanding across different cultures. The
benefits are not limited to economic gains but include social
advantages, creating better places to live and work. I am glad to be
participating in this dialogue coordinated by PATA to further
highlight the important role of the complete visitor economy.”
There
will be four concurrent interactive sessions on corporate social
responsibility, facilitating and balancing safety and security, human
capital development, and medical tourism integration to the complete
visitor economy.
Speakers
include Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts; Nicole Häusler
M.A., CSR Expert, Myanmar Masterpiece; Bert van Walbeek, Managing
Director, The Winning Edge; Peter Semone, Chief Technical Advisor,
Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH); Kaye
Chon, Dean and Chair Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism
Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Dr. Edward P
Dramberger, Principal, Destination Dr., International Hospitality
Consulting; Prof. Zadok S Lempert, Chief Executive, Panorama-Medica
Group; and Olivier Jager, Co-Founder & CEO, FowardKeys, Traveller
Data Intelligence.
Registration
is now open. Fees for the 2013 PATA Annual Summit are US$699 per
person for PATA members, US$899 for Chapter members, and US$1,299 for
non-members. Special rates for Young Tourism Professionals and
students apply. Package prices including the PATA Annual Summit, the
PATA Youth Forum and Digital Innovation Asia, which take place the
same week, are also available.