In line with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s adoption of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will have a primary focus on the ‘Young Tourism Professional’ (YTP) in 2017.
PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy has pledged to further strengthen PATA’s commitment to young tourism professionals throughout the region. He made this important commitment in meetings with ASEAN Tourism Ministers and heads of National Tourism Organisations.
During his presentations, Dr. Hardy stressed the importance of making further substantial investments in developing and enhancing the knowledge and skills of students engaged in tourism, hospitality management and related degree courses. He also highlighted the essential need to develop and implement effective training platforms for YTPs as they seek to make career progression and skills enhancement.
Hardy said, “The UN estimates that there are over 3.5 billion young people around the world. This is the largest generation of youth that the world has ever known and there are, importantly, many aspects in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that directly affect the youth of today including ending poverty, providing quality education for all, gender equality and the reduction of inequality. To help support the UN SDGs and the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, we are developing a blueprint for a programme of activities throughout 2017 that focus upon young tourism professionals in the Asia Pacific region.”
Although PATA, now celebrating its 65th anniversary, was formed to attract public and private sector organisations as members the Association intends to officially launch the Young Tourism Professional individual membership category in January 2017.
PATA is already a global leader in youth tourism development, working with educational institutions and the PATA Human Capital Development committee to stage a PATA Youth Symposium twice-yearly as part of the programmes for the signature travel trade event PATA Travel Mart and the PATA Annual Summit. PATA also hosts two academies each year at the Association’s Engagement Hub in Bangkok that focus upon specific issues, challenges and opportunities facing travel and tourism.
Hardy added, “PATA’s membership roster includes 63 educational institutions in 25 countries. The 15 PATA Student Chapters, with more than 700 members, give us important grass-root links to the world of academia and tomorrow’s tourism leaders.”
