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New PATA President and CEO Greg Duffell has begun his tenure with a renewed commitment to ensure transparency and accountability across every aspect of the Association’s work. "We’re not a secret society but rather a well-established industry organisation with an incredible track record and a remarkable heritage. We have much to offer and I’m determined that our members recognise this and take advantage of their Association membership in a constructive and beneficial manner," he says.
Mr Duffell, who joined PATA this week from Indochina Services Travel in Thailand, has already launched a consultation exercise with a broad cross-section of the PATA membership. "I’m keen to hear first-hand from our members about how they believe we can improve our service delivery. A key role for me is to ensure that all our members fully appreciate that PATA offers real benefits that add value," he adds.
One important decision taken this week is the postponement of the planned 2009 CEO Challenge, as PATA Chairman Janice Antonson explains. "This event in 2008 was an outstanding success which received justifiable praise across the industry. But the business climate has changed dramatically in the past six months and I believe that our efforts will be better spent this year by focusing upon our mainstream events, such as our Annual Meeting and Business Forum this April in Macau and the PATA Travel Mart in Hangzhou in September. These are excellent opportunities, in particular, for our members to network, make new contacts, exploit new business opportunities and boost revenue," adds Janice. "We will review our plans for the CEO Challenge later in the year."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
