The Pacific Asia Travel Association (
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (
The PATA Americas Travel Mart (formerly called PATA-VUSAMART) aims to promote North American destinations to buyers predominantly from the Pacific Asia region. The event, originally scheduled to take place in Mexico City in September 2001, was initially postponed until 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
PATA Vice President-Development, Mr. Peter Semone, said recovery from the Sept. 11 impact would be much more tangible by 2003, with overseas arrivals to North America expected to return to 2000 levels by around mid-2004. Postponing the event to 2003 also gives PATA the opportunity to expand the show through a proposed strategic alliance with the Washington, D.C.-based American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).
In the post 9-11 environment PATA is adapting its trade show policy to deliver very focused events in convenient locations which will draw a lot of support from the marketplace, said Mr. Semone. The proposed alliance with AH&LA would deliver mutually beneficial results to members of both associations, he added.
PATA and AH&LA have agreed to jointly assess the timing and location of the event for 2003 and beyond. Through the collective and broader membership base of both organisations, a fresh marketing effort will be launched to secure participation from quality sellers and buyers.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
