TravTalk India Online Magazine
Virtual PATA Travel Mart (PTM) 2020 saw delegates indulge in B2B meetings online and discuss how they could work together under changed circumstances induced by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Nisha Verma
Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 welcomed over 1000 delegates from 60 destinations across the world. A total of 208 sellers from 199 organisations and 40 destinations attended the event along with 152 buyers from 147 organisations and 39 source markets. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) was also pleased to welcome 900 international students and young tourism professionals as part of PATA Youth Symposium, designed as a four-part series that took place from September 22-25.
In his welcome address, Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, said, “Asia Pacific will be the leading force of tourism’s global recovery from COVID-19 as both an inbound destination as well as a robust source market. As some destinations have slowly restarted tourism through either domestic or regional travel, eventually, international markets will follow. Not only is Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 the perfect occasion for organisations to start planning for recovery in 2021, it is also the perfect opportunity to discuss how we can build a stronger, more responsible and more sustainable industry post COVID-19.”
The virtual event had two full business days and two trade visitor days. The event also included two PTM Forums on ‘The Current State of Travel Media’ and ‘The Impact of Health and Hygiene on Post COVID-19 Destination Competitiveness in the Asia Pacific’; quick fire presentations on ‘Future Travel on Destinations, Aviation, Hospitality and Industry’; and group chat sessions during the networking break.
