PATA and World Without Borders Sign MoU

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 29, 2014 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Travel Association “World Without Borders” of the Russian Federation (World Without Borders). The agreement strengthens the links initiated by PATA’s visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg in March 2014.

The MoU aims to promote and develop cooperation in the field of tourism and travel research to build sustainable flows of tourists between the Russian Federation and the PATA regions.

The MoU was signed by PATA CEO Martin J Craigs and World Without Borders CEO Oxana McChristian at the JATA Tourism EXPO Japan on Friday, September 26, 2014. The agreement commits the two organisations to share knowledge through research and publications, to reciprocate in event participation, to support mutual agreed advocacy positions, and to enhance two-way marketing whilst building business via more open market access.

Martin J Craigs said, “It is highly appropriate at this troubled time in many parts of the world for PATA to establish bridges for people of goodwill from all countries to access each other, empathise with each other and reject demonisation of each other. World without Borders is a worthy aim in terms of travel, tourism and trade. At the present time we have a form of globalisation that often benefits the few at the cost of the many.”? ?

Oxana McChristian added, “We are honoured to have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), pursuing our mutual goal of the development of tourists flows and travel promotion between the Russian Federation and the PATA regions, which have become key markets for Russia and are the focus for World Without Borders since 2002. We are looking forward to strengthening our cooperation with PATA.” ? ?

As highlighted in PATA’s five-year visitor forecasts (2014-2018), arrivals from the Russian Federation into Asia Pacific are expected to grow from 7.4 million in 2014 to 15 million by 2018. According to the Federal Agency for Tourism, Ministry of Culture Russian Federation, total arrivals to the Russian Federation reached 30.8 million in 2013 achieving an annual growth rate of 9 percent.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 43 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA’s membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney, Dubai, London and New York.

About Travel Association “World without Borders”
Non-Commercial Partnership of International Tourism Integration «World without Borders» was established in 2002 by the leading Russian incoming tour operators. It is the first travel association of this kind for joint promotion of Russian national tourist product in the international markets.

Travel Association «World without Borders» unites about 130 Russian biggest tourist companies from 15 regions of Russia from Moscow and Saint Petersburg to the Far East and Eastern Siberia, including those from Kamchatka, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Blagoveshensk, Chita, Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Krasnoyarsk.

«World without Borders» coordinates the cooperation of tour-business, public organizations and governmental authorities on the different aspects of arrangement of international tourism in context of long-term projects to increase safety of the tourists, qualities of the services and development of the tourist infrastructure. Special efforts are made to coordinate the international tourism-related issues with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and other federal bodies of executive power of the Russian Federation.

«World without Borders» plays the role of coordinator of the Russian tour operators’ activities in the higher priority international markets, such as Asia-Pacific region (in China, Japan and South Korea in particular, i.e. in the countries with a big potential from the point of view of incoming tourism to Russia).

«World without Borders» is traditionally engaged in preparation of joint conferences, exhibitions, workshops, seminars, presentations and also participates in international congresses and other events concerning tourism.

«World without Borders» is the official organizer of Russian national stands at the leading international tourist exhibitions in the countries of Asia-Pacific region: BITE, CITM, JATA, KOTFA, ITF, OTM and others.

Travel Association «World without Borders» also coordinates the efforts of its member tourist companies to improve the safety and the quality of service for visa-free group tourism between Russia and China.

Travel Association «World without Borders» makes efforts to develop collaboration with national tourist administrations, their offices in Russia, foreign associations of tourist companies and enterprises of tourism industry, particularly by the conclusion of the proper bilateral agreements on partnership. For instance, such document is signed with the Chinese Association of tourist companies. Good partnership relations are established with Japanese Association of travel agencies. Earlier this year, the agreement on partnership was achieved with the Korean tourist organizations KTA and KATA.

Good working relationship with travel companies of Finland are in progress as well.

Travel Association «World without Borders» is a member of the UN World Tourism Organization and Baltic Sea Tourism Commission.

Media Contact:
PATA
Paul Pruangkarn
Manager – Communications
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 658 2000
E-mail: Communications@PATA.org
Online newsroom: www.PATA.org/Press