Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) President and CEO
Mr Peter de Jong will continue to lead the Association for another three years, PATA
2006-2007 Chairman Mr Richard Beere has announced.The announcement is a strong endorsement of Mr de Jong?s “agenda of change” through
which PATA has evolved into an agile, knowledge-based, advocacy-embracing trade
association.

“PATA?s Executive Committee agreed unanimously to ask Peter to renew his contract
through to 2009 and we are delighted that he has accepted the challenge,” Mr Beere
said.

“The committee fully supports the vision and direction that Peter has brought to
PATA over the past five years and applauds the outstanding results that he and his
team have achieved, especially during some difficult times for our industry.”

Mr de Jong said he was committed to the change agenda, which had re-energised and
refocused the association during a period of revolutionary change in travel and
tourism.

Highlights over the past five years included:

* Growing the PATA Travel Mart to the point where it is, once again, the premier
travel trade show in the region

* Protecting the reputation of the region through the post-SARS Project Phoenix PR
campaign, the Tsunami Recovery campaign with the PATA Foundation and on-going
participation in the UNWTO?s cross-sector crisis response team

* Launching an exciting new brand identity for PATA

* Producing a new range of insightful, user-friendly Intelligence Reports

* Broadening PATA?s mission to embrace “outbound travel” and “sustainability”.

“The PATA team has achieved a great deal but a lot of important work lies ahead,”
said Mr de Jong.

“We are focusing on the many exciting opportunities for our members in growth
markets such as China, India and the Gulf Region.”

“We are creating a new strategic summit, we are building on the success of the PATA
Travel Mart, we are producing new intelligence products that provide genuine
business insights, and we are committed to being a powerful advocate for Asia
Pacific travel and tourism.” 

“I am confident that with the on-going support of the Board and the Asia Pacific
travel and tourism community, PATA will continue to deliver real value to all its
members and stakeholders in the years ahead.”
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