PACIFIC Asia Travel Association (Pata), a leading voice and authority on travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region, has expanded its reach with the opening of its new Middle East chapter in Dubai.
In partnership with private and public sector members, Pata aims to enhance the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism in the region, said Pata chief executive officer Martin Craigs.
Speaking to TTN on the side-lines of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Asia summit in Seoul, South Korea, he said: “We regularly deal with the carriers and other travel organisations in the Gulf and that is why Pata has decided to expand its footprint from where we traditionally stopped in Asia (at Pakistan) and extend it right up to Turkey. So our definition of Asia Pacific now is: 17 time zones from Istanbul to Santiago in Chile.”
The association provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to more than 80 government, state and city tourism bodies; nearly 50 international airlines, airports and cruise lines and many hundreds of travel industry companies across the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Pata’s Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) offers data and insights, analyses and forecasts as well as in-depth reports on tourism markets in the region.
Craigs, who strongly believes that tourism is a major tool to bring about a better understanding between people and nations, said: “The one thing we are trying to say is that we need to speak more with one voice about the positive impact of the travel and tourism industry.
“There is no country in this region that doesn’t want to improve the quality of travel and tourism because they realise that it is a major tool for job creation and it shows off the best side of one’s personality. Basically, the opportunities are huge as the middle class is growing fast in Asia Pacific.”
Craigs is a great advocate of removing the barriers that prevent travel and abolition of unreasonable taxes on travellers and airlines. “All governments need to get together to make travel more seamless and a pleasant experience. The tourism sector is growing fast and any restriction on freedom of movement, freedom to grow travel and tourism is something we want to confront.
“Many economies of the Gulf are keen to promote their tourism sector and there are major airlines that are growing at great pace in the region. Anything that affects their growth opportunities has to be confronted as well,” he said.
“If you do an analysis of what Emirates has achieved, it’s a fantastic business story. Unbelievably, you have two other great stories in the region – the Etihad story which is really impressive and then you have the phenomenon of Qatar Airways as well. So how lucky can you get in that region?”
Criticising the tendency of governments to tax the aviation sector, Craigs said: “The main problem we have is the centuries-old European mindset that believes that railways should be subsidised and aviation should be taxed. These politicians don’t understand that 21st century is built on connectivity.
“There is an appalling lack of vision among politicians. They cannot figure out how to tax e-commerce so they tax the sitting ducks, which are airlines. By taxing the aviation, they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
Speaking on the European Union’s ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme), he said it has been side-lined for the time being, but it could come back. “Lobbying against the EU ETS has saved $825 million this year alone for the airlines industry according to a study. It’s a lot of money for the airlines.”
He said Pata is moving with a next generation mind set having been around for 60 years. “Like all traditional organisations, you have to move with the times and adopt technology. The speed of change is huge and we have to be adaptive.”
By Sree Bhat