Three weeks away from its new format Annual Summit, PATA CEO Martin Craigs feels ready and encouraged by his team commitment to turn the Bangkok event into a success.
BANGKOK- Open doors at PATA on Wednesday was all about showing the readiness of PATA team prior to the Annual Summit which will take place in Bangkok at Centara Grand on April 26. The Annual Summit will be preceded by the Youth Forum on April 25 at Thamassat University where the young generation will debate about the future of tourism and its trends. A party will be hosted for all participants at Siam Center, Bangkok refurbished shopping complex which fuses for the first time in Thailand design and shopping.
The Annual Summit theme “Embracing the Complete Visitor Economy” will be developed during the Opening Session. Most speakers are now confirmed. The highlight will be the keynote speech of Taleb Rifai, UN-WTO General Secretary. It will be followed by a debate in a first plenary session about “Public Sectors’ challenges, and opportunities inherent in politically advancing the complete Visitor Economy” around CNN news anchor Monita Rajpal. Are already confirmed the former Secretary of Tourism in Mexico, Ms. Gloria Guevara, David Scowsill President & Chief Executive Officer WTTC, Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT Governor and Chen Tiejun, Deputy Director General for Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission.
A second Plenary Session will debate about “private sectors connecting the complete visitor economy”. Will participate Banyan Tree CEO Abid Butt, Pansy Ho, Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings, Sorajak Kasemsuvan, President of Thai Airways International, Martin Verdon Roe, Global VP Display Sales for Tripadvisor and Lothar R. Pehl, SVP Operations and Global Initiatives Starwood Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific.
In the afternoon, four concurrent interactive sessions will look at corporate social responsibility; facilitating and balancing safety and security; human capital development and medical tourism integration to the complete Visitor Economy.
“I can tell that we managed also to get Boeing on board for our summit”, told Martin Craigs, PATA CEO. “I have also some exciting news for PATA for 2014. But for now, we are all bond to make this PATA summit a success. And it will”, he added.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
