The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare For Today

Bangkok (Thailand) – April 30, 2014 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Education and Training Committee will hold a PATA Youth Symposium on the morning of May 16, 2014, at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), Zhuhai Campus. With the theme “The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare for Today”, the Symposium will commence prior to the PATA Executive Board, Board Meeting and 2014 AGM and aims to attract hundreds of young professionals and students from overseas and around China.

Notable speakers for the event include Mr Peter Semone, Chairman, PATA Education and Training Committee; Mr Randy Durband, CEO, The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC); Ms Ben Montgomery, Chairperson, PATA Thailand Chapter, Director of Business Relations Management, Centara Hotels and Resorts, Bangkok, Thailand; Ms Ivy Chee, PATA Regional Director – East Asia; and Ms Soulinnara Ratanavong, 2014 PATA Face of the Future and Teacher/Trainer, the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (Lanith), Lao PDR.

PATA Education and Training Committee Chairman, Mr Peter Semone explained that, “Engaging young people is a critical element of the PATA Next Gen strategy, which calls for concerted action in the area of human capital development. We very much look forward to meeting the enthusiastic scholars of Sun Yat-sen University at the Symposium and sharing the vast industry knowledge of our distinguished speakers.”

The School of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-sen University is a leading tourism and hospitality education and research institution in mainland China. Professor Bao Jigang, the Dean of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai Campus, expressed his welcome to the global guests and added that SYSU is eager to meet the distinguished speakers from the tourism industry and academia.

In recent years, the PATA Education and Training Committee has organised successful educational events at various institutions including UCSI University Sarawak Campus (April 2010), Institute for Tourism Studies (September 2010), Beijing International Studies University (April 2011) and Taylor’s University, Kuala Lumpur (April 2012), Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila (September 2012), Thammasat University, Bangkok (April 2013) and Chengdu Polytechnic, China (September 2013).

View video excerpts taken from the PATA Youth Symposium, Sept 2014, Chengdu China, as part of the PATA Travel Mart 2014, and from the PATA Youth Forum, April 2013, Bangkok, Thailand, part of the PATA Annual Summit 2013.

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 41 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. Visit www.PATA.org

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