PATA commits to ‘Next Gen’ action

At the opening of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, PATA CEO Martin J Craigs committed the association to a four-year phase of “Next Generation”action to underpin the 61-year old travel body’s relevance in the digital age. The CEO said aligned advocacy, mobile technology, business building events and crisis management readiness would define the association’s new operational mindset, which will be formally called PATA Next Gen. More than 600 tourism professionals from many travel industry sectors and locations listened to details of Next Gen as the two-day PATA gathering officially commenced at the Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Craigs told the delegates, “PATA Next Gen is ageless, neither old nor young. It is a state of mind, a commitment to speed, relevance, informality and getting things done on behalf of our members who want to build and defend their business in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”The CEO cited PATAmPOWER, the association’s new mobile platform for integrated travel intelligence, as a major proof point in PATA Next Gen delivery. PATAmPower presents the latest travel industry insights and statistics in a user-friendly visual format that PATA members can access on their mobile devices 24/7, as long as they have an Internet connection. (http://www.PATA.org)