The third PATA Annual Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference will take place in Paro, Bhutan, February 3rd-7th, 2012 – the first such event in the mountainous kingdom.

The official theme for the event will be High Value Tourism – Low Impact Footprints.

Bhutan is a land-locked state at the eastern end of the Himalayas ranging from sub-tropical plains in the south to Himalayan peaks over 7,000 metres in the north.

The country has a population of 700,000 and is bordered by India to the west, south and east, and by China to the north.

“We are honoured to host the PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart in Bhutan for the first time,” said Kesang Wangdi, director general of the Tourism Council of Bhutan.

“I am confident that such an international conference will help broaden the understanding of tourism and stress its positive impact on societies.”

At the event, international, regional and local speakers will share experiences and provide insights into existing and future travel trends in the responsible and adventure tourism sectors.

A buyer-seller mart component will target a limited number of relevant high quality buyers primarily from Japan, Chinese Taipei, western Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and the Asian cities of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“We welcome all PATA conference delegates to visit Bhutan, where happiness is the ultimate development goal complimented with a strong commitment to environmental and cultural preservation,” said Karma Lotey, chairman of the association of Bhutanese Tour Operators.

“We look forward to fruitful interactions that will create meaningful business associations, many friendships and lots of happy memories.”

The new event in Bhutan builds on the two successful adventure conferences and marts staged by PATA in 2010 and 2011 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal.

The Bhutan event will also feature a series of pre-conference webinars, activities and interactions with speakers and participants.