Strengthening Ties With Global Partners

Dear Readers and Industry Colleagues,

Like many in our industry, I spent the past month on a multi-purpose, extended travel journey. Rather than hopping back and forth to my home base of Singapore, to save time, money, energy, and reduce my carbon impact, I chose to venture in a single direction around the globe using a myriad of home-based and hospitality-based accommodations. Since I last wrote, my personal travels had brought me to NY for family and PATA meetings. I then had the great opportunity to join Terry Dale, CEO of USTOA, and a small group of global travel sustainability leaders in northern Norway. The trip was an insightful journey to a destination that fully embraces the UN SDGs – a conference that proved to be inspirational, interactive, and educational. Many thanks to Terry Dale for welcoming me as a new industry partner and I look forward to bringing a similar experience to PATA's community of destination leaders as well.

Left: PATA CEO with global Travel Sustainability Leaders in northern Norway.

Right: PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera (left) with USTOA CEO Terry Dale.

My journey continued on to a warm, productive and collegial meeting with UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili in Madrid.

My big thanks to Zurab for so warmly welcoming me in Madrid and his openness to strengthening the partnership and collaboration with PATA. We shared common values and initiatives, and both look forward to magnifying each other's efforts in resilience, sustainability, innovation, equity, and inclusion.

We were immediately able to put our new collaboration in action since Zurab warmly welcomed me to attend and speak this past week at the 34th Asia Pacific Commission in the Maldives, where I had the opportunity to speak on the Ministerial Roundtable on Tourism Resilience through Innovation and Digitalisation. Within this forum, I extended to the UNWTO member network the opportunity to access the PATA Tourism Destination Resilience Programme’s online training modules targeting national, provincial, and local tourism organisations.

Third to left: PATA Chairman Peter Semone; centre: UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili; fifth and sixth to right: Minister of Maldives Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera.

The following day, I also participated in the Community Based Tourism Forum, speaking on their opening panel. Like many destinations, the Maldives is working hard to develop community-based travel experiences with authenticity and creating engaging experiences that can provide livelihoods for more local communities. We had the wonderful opportunity to tour with Minister Mausoom a local island under development and experience their local handicraft techniques, indigenous food products, and traditional games.

My latest travels gave me the opportunity to meet with no less than four PATA Chapters - San Diego, New York, Norway and Bangkok - my thanks to all for the warmth and hospitality extended. The Chapters are a valuable extension of our network and I look forward to finding more ways to drive a stronger connection between PATA International and the Chapter member base.

PATA Team meets with PATA Bangkok Chapter and Thai-based members.

Best regards,

Liz

Disclaimer: This article was originally published on June 20, 2022 on www.PATA.org and has been reposted here with permission from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).