Turning research into winning strategies is the central theme of the new Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Tourism Strategy Forum targeting tourism marketers across Asia Pacific.

Leading industry marketers, planners and researchers are now signing up for the forum to be held in Kunming, China (PRC), on October 30-November 1, 2008.

Ms Paula Fong, Director - International Affairs & Research, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts; Mr David Thexton, Partner, Insignia Marketing Research; Ms Hinemarie Larkins, Manager - Marketing Research, Tourism New Zealand; Mr Doug Shifflet, Chairman & CEO, DK Shifflet and Associates; Mr Kelvin Fu, Strategy Planning Manager, Hong Kong Tourism Board; and Mr William Hsu, Vice President Asia Pacific, CNN Advertising Sales, are just some of the senior-level industry professionals who have signed up as lead presenters and panellists.

The forum will focus on best practice in research and its application in the development and execution of tourism strategy. Over two full days, delegates will attend five informative and interactive workshops as well as a China-focused seminar.

Coming on the cusp of what is likely to be a difficult year for the industry in 2009, the Forum will arm tourism industry professionals with new concepts, ideas and techniques with which to face the toughest of operating environments.

According to David Thexton, Partner, Insignia Marketing Research, "Market research actually flourishes in tough economic times because marketers know they have to dig deeper to better understand consumers and what motivates them. At the PATA Forum we will share new techniques that we have developed for the Canadian Tourism Commission which identifies what buttons to push with travel consumers and how to motivate them."

PATA Director - Strategic Intelligence Centre, John Koldowski, agreed that with the global economic slowdown, the tourism market in the next few years will become all the more challenging. "In order to survive in this environment, tourism managers will have to become more efficient at predicting change: they will need to access more data to recognise emerging shifts and will need better tools to make sound business decisions," he said.

"The 2008 PATA Tourism Strategy Forum is a must-attend opportunity for senior-level research and marketing professionals from tourism boards, airlines, hotels, airports and operators."

The international event is being planned in cooperation with the Kunming Municipal Tourism Bureau and Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration. It is sponsored by leading tourism research firms, Insignia Research and DK Shifflet and Associates and formally endorsed by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).