The recently concluded PATA Annual Summit 2019, under the theme ‘Progress with a Purpose’, in Cebu, Philippines saw the presence of 383 delegates from 194 organisations and 43 destinations including student chapter representatives from 21 educational institutions hailing from eighteen destinations.
Hosted by the Department of Tourism, Philippines, the event included the Association’s executive and advisory board meetings, annual general meeting (AGM), PATA Youth Symposium, PATA Insights Lounge, the UNWTO/PATA Leaders Debate and a one-day conference that highlighted the fundamental challenges, issues and opportunities of the travel and tourism industry and how the industry working together can bring about actionable change for a better future.
“The need for demonstrated leadership in the travel and tourism industry has never been more critical. As an industry, we are grappling with large scale global and regional challenges including climate change, overtourism and the resulting strain on infrastructure, as well as and social and economic inequality in many destinations, which will require a new type of leadership from truly progressive entities,” Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. “This year’s PATA Annual Summit, with the theme ‘Progress with a Purpose’ not only examined the issues and challenges affecting our industry but also challenged our delegates to take action and address these problems directly.”
Delegates were given the unique opportunity to hear from Airbnb Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chairman of Airbnb China, Nathan Blecharczyk, who sat down for a special one-on-one interview with BBC World News Presenter, Rico Hizon.
Sponsored by the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), the opening keynote on the ‘State of the World Economy’ was delivered by Andrew Staples, Global Editorial Director at The Economist Corporate Network. He shared the latest macroeconomic forecasts for the global economy from The Economist Intelligence Unit before identifying the longer-term opportunities and challenges facing the Asia Pacific region.
