PATA unveils new executive board

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) at its 73rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) elects Peter Semone as the Chair of its Executive Board for the second term. Suman Pandey and Luzi Matzig have been elected as the Vice Chair and Secretary/ Treasurer, respectively. The board’s six-member committee includes SanJeet, Director, DDP Publications.

TT Bureau

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) unveiled its new Executive Board for the 2024-2026 term during its 73rd Annual General Meeting (AGM). Peter Semone was elected as the Chair of the Executive Board. Suman Pandey, a well-known figure in Nepalese tourism, was named as the Vice Chair, while Luzi Matzig was made the new Secretary/ Treasurer.

Addressing the participants at the AGM, Semone said, “It is an honour to be elected by members of the PATA Board of Directors to lead the association for a second term. Thanks to the strong commitment of the secretariat staff and outgoing Executive Board members, over the past two years significant progress has been made in regard to PATA’s finances and management. Much work remains to be done and I am confident that the new Executive Board will rise to this challenge.”

Semone, a leading tourism development expert specialising in the Asia Pacific region, has served in leadership roles for international donor-funded projects in Timor-Leste, Lao PDR, and Vietnam and is frequently called upon as a short-term expert for UN Tourism and the Asian Development Bank. He is the founder of the internationally acclaimed Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH) vocational school. He has also authored tourism policies, strategies and action plans for destinations at regional, national and municipal levels.

Members of the Executive Board

The newly-elected members of the Executive Board comprise Ben Montgomery, Director of Business Relations Management, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand; Henry Oh, Chairman, Global Tour, Korea (ROK); Noredah Othman, CEO, Sabah Convention Bureau, Malaysia; Mayur Patel, Head of Asia, OAG, Singapore; Gerald Perez, Vice President, Guam Visitors Bureau, Guam; and SanJeet, Director, DDP Publications, India. Additionally, Vikram Madhok, Vice Chairman, PATA India Chapter, has been appointed to the PATA Board, to represent 32 PATA Global Chapters, on the platform, and Noor Ahmad Hamid remains on the Executive Board as the Ex-officio/ CEO.

Underlining the goals and objectives of the new Executive Board, SanJeet, Member, Executive Board, PATA, asserted, “The new Executive Board is dedicated to revitalising PATA with fresh ideas and concepts, aiming to establish it as one of the world’s foremost associations in its field.”

When asked about his objectives for the growth of Indian market, SanJeet replied, “India has been a significant market for PATA, and with my role on the Executive Board, I aim to bring India closer to the world and the world closer to India. PATA and India’s tourism have enjoyed a very healthy relationship in the past, and we aim to strengthen this relationship while increasing the market share of travellers between Southeast Asia and India.” The PATA forecasts that the Asia Pacific will witness an upward curve in IVAs by 2026. With the new Executive Board in place, it would be interesting to see what strategies the association will deploy for the tourism development in the region.