Bangkok--5 Nov--PATA
The two-day PATA Tourism Strategy Forum hosted by the Kunming Municipal People's Government and the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration has received wide-ranging praise from delegates and speakers.
The forum, titled 'Applying tourism research - moving from research to strategy', embraced five workshops covering the application and implementation of research in strategic business planning. It attracted nearly 150 delegates from a broad cross-section of the travel and tourism industry including, amongst others, senior executives from hotel groups, airlines, national tourist offices and tour operators.
Immediate post-event reaction to the forum, which was led by distinguished academic Dr Ian Yeoman, has been very positive.
"The majority of delegates agreed or strongly agreed that the event provided them with a solid overview of the links between tourism research and marketing while 72% of delegates were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the PATA Tourism Strategy Forum. Some 73% of delegates would personally attend a future research/marketing focused PATA event," says John Koldowski, Director - Strategic Intelligence Centre at PATA.
The forum received a ringing endorsement from Mr Wu Hao, Counsel - Director General, Anhui Provincial Tourism Administration. "The PATA Tourism Strategy Forum was a professionally designed, well-organised and fruitful event that provided a global perspective on tourism research," he says.
Mr Saw Leong Beng, General Manager - Network Planning at Malaysia Airlines, observes, "Given the current challenging environment, keeping abreast with the latest research techniques and trends is vital for all the players in the travel and tourism industry. The forum was a very informative event with leading experts in tourism and hospitality research sharing their latest findings and views."
"This PATA event exceeded my expectations. I was impressed with the calibre of the delegates in attendance," says Paula Fong, Senior Manager - Strategic Planning and Consumer Insight, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts.
David Thexton, Partner at Insignia Research, says, "I was very impressed with the organisation of the PATA Tourism Research Forum. Delegates not only benefited from the presentation content but also from the interaction with industry colleagues."
Plans are now under way to stage a similar event in 2009, although the theme and venue have yet to be confirmed.
"It's clear that there is a real demand for this type of forum," adds John Koldowski. "The value of research and market intelligence must not be understated and, at PATA, we have a wealth of such information which we wish to share with the widest possible audience."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Oliver Martin
Associate Director - Strategic Intelligence Centre Pacific Asia Travel Association
Office: +66 2 658 2000 extension 129
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT PATA
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry.
PATA provides leadership to the collective efforts of nearly 100 government, state and city tourism bodies; 55 international airlines and cruise lines and several hundred companies and organisations operating across the industry.
PATA's Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) offers unrivalled data and insights on the travel and tourism industry, including Asia Pacific inbound and outbound statistics, analyses and forecasts, as well as in-depth reports on strategic tourism markets.
For more information, please visit www.PATA.org.