News @ PATA

Jan 01, 05 | 5:10 am

Best of News@PATA 2004
Ten of the best PATA news highlights covered by News@PATA in 2004:

SARS Fears: PATA Calls for Vigilance
January 14 -- PATA responded to fears that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) would re-emerge by calling for media restraint and accuracy.

PATA Announces 'Total Tourism'
April 21 -- PATA adopted the concept of Total Tourism at its Annual General Meeting, empowering PATA to promote travel "from" Asia Pacific as well as "to" and "within".

'Outstanding' PAC04 Receives Rave Reviews
April 28 -- The 53rd PATA Annual Conference promised a great deal, which is why a record 2,145 delegates turned out on beautiful Jeju Island, Korea (ROK).

Chapters: What Happened at Jeju?
May 19 -- One of the hottest topics at the April Board of Directors Meeting was the future of PATA's chapter network. The result was a historic reversal of a 1991 Board decision.

PATA Foundation: 20 Years of Heart Work
June 16 -- In its 20th year, the PATA Foundation vowed to do even more for the grassroots of Asia Pacific's travel and tourism industry and introduced new initiatives.

Demand Drives the World to PATA Travel Mart
September 22 -- PATA Travel Mart 2004 in Bangkok was 70% larger than PTM03 in Singapore, with 345 global buyers meeting with 720 Asia Pacific sellers.

Board Advances 'Bold and Visionary' PATA
September 29 -- The Board of Directors meeting in Bangkok successfully advanced PATA's strategic agenda on key fronts, including advocacy and intelligence.

PATA Urges Decisive Action on Bird Flu
October 13 -- After conducting a survey of Thai-based members, PATA called for decisive government action and transparency to counter the outbreak of bird flu (H5N1)

PATA Announces Policy Position on Advisories
October 20 -- PATA released details of its new policy platform on travel advisories,  the centre of which is the PATA Code for Fair Travel Advisory Issuance .

PATA Predicts 300 Million Asia Pacific Arrivals in 2004
December 8 -- The December edition of Issues & Trends boldly forecasts more than 300 million international visitor arrivals (IVAs) to Asia Pacific in 2004, a new record.

Full 2004 News@PATA archive .

PATA Backs Aussie Approach to Policy Development
Members of the Australian National Tourism and Aviation Advisory Committee (NTAAC) met in Canberra for the first time on December 2. Australian Minister for Small Business and Tourism Hon Fran Bailey MP said: "Maintaining and enhancing the partnership between tourism and aviation will drive growth in both sectors in the face of future challenges."
     PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong said: "PATA supports the objectives of this Committee, which are to balance the diverse interests of tourism and aviation and to develop a whole-of-government approach to tourism and aviation policy."
     Full NTAAC release .

India Relaxes Visa Rules for Pakistanis
According to the December 27 Hindustan Times in New Delhi, India has announced the unilateral relaxation of visa rules as they apply to Pakistan nationals aged more than 65 years of age and less than 12 years of age. It also offered student visas on a case-by-case basis for Pakistanis studying in reputable institutions.

Dominant Force #7: Improving Levels of Disposable Income

PATA Managing Director-Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) Mr John Koldowski has identified seven dominant forces affecting Asia Pacific travel and tourism in 2004 and beyond. News@PATA will summarise these in a series of seven brief articles -- #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 , #6 -- this is the seventh:

There is a strong relationship between higher disposable income and mobility. Travel for its own sake has been a fashionable activity among the wealthy for centuries. The burgeoning middle classes in populous countries, such as China (PRC), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (ROK) and Thailand, have driven the Asia Pacific travel and tourism boom since the beginning of Asia's "economic miracle". These Asian middle classes are now Asia Pacific's best customers.
     Economic growth has been important, but more important is the distribution of growth. For example, the boom in Chinese outbound travel, to more than 30 million trips in 2004 (albeit mainly to special administrative regions), really took off in 1998/99 when annual per capita income exceeded US$800 (along with an easing of outbound regulations and requirements, of course). While citizens earning the average probably cannot afford to travel, a significantly larger proportion of society now feel they can afford to travel.
     Outbound travel from Indonesia to Asia Pacific destinations was accelerating from the early 1990s, to reach a peak of 2.3 million trips in 1997, before the financial crisis and political instability effectively halved per capita income. However, the hardest impact was felt among the poorest working classes who couldn't afford travel anyway, so that in terms relative to the economic disaster, outbound travel from Indonesia wasn't badly affected. The good news is that GDP per capita in Indonesia is expected to reach new highs in 2005 and 2006, bringing with it the potential for more outbound travel from that source market.
     Good prospects for regional growth generally over the next decade, in combination with all the other factors making travel cheaper, more exciting and more convenient  , is bound to give unprecedented numbers of people the wherewithal to travel. Who stands to benefit? How can we sustain it? Where do we go from here?

Travel industry issues and trends receive in-depth coverage in PATA SIC's monthly newsletter Issues & Trends written and researched by Mr Imtiaz Muqbil and edited by Mr John Koldowski. PATA members receive Issues & Trends for free. Non-members may subscribe to 12 editions for US$150 until the end of the year. In 2005, non-member subscriptions will be priced at US$250.