The PATA Travel Mart 2012 that took place in Manila recorded approximately 925 attendees. Martin Craigs, CEO, PATA revealed that when Manila hosted the first PATA Travel Mart in 1978, just over 300 delegates attended. “Over 30 years later, our PATA has stayed ahead by prioritising quality B2B buyer-seller interactions in order to build business for members,” he said.
At the opening press briefing, Craigs opined that there is real momentum and clarity about PATA’s new core value propositions of PATAmPower insights, innovative events, aligned advocacy and human resource capacity building for the industry. He further divulged that for the 2012 Mart, 454 seller delegates representing 233 organisations had booked almost 3,000 square metres of floor space. Of 233 seller organisations, 93 were first-time sellers to the Mart. In total, some 29 seller destinations (countries and territories) were present. PATA reported that the Mart had also attracted 304 buyer delegates from 287 organisations across 52 countries and territories. There were 85 journalists attending from 14 source markets. Some 94 buyers were first-timers to the Mart.
PATA aimed at breaking new ground in the conduct and content of industry forums globally by holding the first-ever debate on the future of travel and tourism between the PATA CEO and a leading regional travel journalist, ‘Thrilla in Manila’. To focus on the topic, “The Future of Travel and Tourism in the Emerging New World Order – What’s Important and What’s Not,” a debate was held on World Tourism Day, at the PATA Youth Forum held alongside the PATA Travel Mart 2012 in Manila. On either side of the debate were Craigs and Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire.
