Aruna Gaitonde
Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Mumbai 
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has become a signatory of ‘The Future of Tourism Coalition’ with the global mission to place destinations at the centre of recovery strategies. Founded in 1951, PATA is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.
The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 95 government, state and city tourism bodies, 25 international airlines and airports, 108 hospitality organisations, 72 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in the Asia Pacific and beyond.
Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 36 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA’s membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC.
The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney and London.
As world tourism begins recovering from the coronavirus crisis, the Future of Tourism Coalition shares a global mission to place destination needs at the centre of tourism’s new future. Decades of unfettered growth in travel have put the world’s treasured places at risk – environmentally, culturally, socially, and financially. Now the tourism industry faces a precarious and uncertain future. Re-centering around a strong set of Guiding Principles is vital for long term deep-rooted growth.
PATA CEO Dr Mario Hardy said, “While decades of growth before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have been celebrated by the travel and tourism industry, it has also placed many destinations at risk - environmentally, culturally, socially, and financially. As the industry looks towards recovery, it must realign around a strong set of principles to bring about long term sustainable and equitable growth. We encourage all of our members, partners, and affiliated organisations and businesses to show their support and become part of the movement by joining as a signatory to this initiative.”
The Coalition was formed in 2020 by six-global non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), Destination Stewardship Center, Green Destinations, Sustainable Travel International, Tourism Cares, and the Travel Foundation.
Today almost 550 organisations have since signed up to the Coalition’s 13 Guiding Principles, which place destination needs at the centre of tourism’s new future. The Guiding Principles outline a bold vision for tourism's path forward and is calling on tourism agencies, travel companies, governments, investors, non-governmental organizations, and destination communities to commit to them.
Jeremy Sampson, CEO of the Travel Foundation and Chair of The Future of Tourism Coalition, said, “With PATA’s support for the Coalition our initiative is significantly strengthened. PATA was an early advocate of sustainable tourism within the Asia Pacific and, by joining The Future of Tourism community, it can facilitate a greater flow of best practice to and from the region. The Coalition aims to create a truly global movement of organisations committed to a better future based on its guiding principles, and representing the broad diversity of perspectives, needs, capabilities and expertise within tourism. We have over 500 organisations on board so far and, with PATA’s support and guidance, we’ve just taken another huge stride towards this shared goal.”
The Guiding Principles provide a clear moral and business imperative for building a healthier tourism industry while protecting the places and people on which it depends.
Those Principles call for signatories to see the whole picture; use sustainability standards; collaborate in destination management; choose quality over quantity; demand fair income distribution; reduce tourism’s burden; redefine economic success; mitigate climate impacts; close the loop on resources; contain tourism’s land use; diversify source markets; protect a sense of place, and operate business responsibly.
The foundation of these principles was built on a firm belief that taking a holistic approach to responsible and sustainable tourism is the only way to secure the future the Coalition stands for.
The Coalition recognizes that a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is fundamental to achieving its Guiding Principles. The travel and tourism industry has much work to do, and the Coalition will act with intentionality in addressing the role that racial and environmental justice play in creating a more equitable tourism economy. The Coalition members have committed to listen, learn, and seek change by engaging with signatories and other entities as a part of that journey, and this work will be guided by Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) indicators and criteria related to equity, inclusion, and non-discrimination. The path to change is a journey and lasting solutions take time. The Coalition will support the industry by providing the tools, guidance and collaboration to ensure a stronger path forward and encourage a diverse and inclusive set of signatories to sign on and share their perspectives and experiences to collectively work toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all.
