Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #39

ASIA / PACIFIC
Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #39
2018 Summer Edition 31
PATA WILL ALWAYS REMAIN
A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A RESPONSIBLE
AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL AND
TOURISM INDUSTRY
Mario Hardy
CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association
In the past three years PATA has
focused on building a financially
strong organisation, increasing
the number of members globally
and improving engagement with
its members and partners. We
asked Mario Hardy what’s to come.
After the UNWTO’s Year of Sustainable
Tourism for Development in 2017, you
have launched a new initiative. Please
tell us more.
We recently launched the BUFFET (Building
an Understanding for Food Excess in
Tourism) Initiative, a campaign aimed at
Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
The overall outcome of the campaign is
to produce a research paper with case
studies and best practices on eliminating
food waste. The final report will be shared
globally and hopefully be the start of a
global movement.
In the years to come, the Association will
look to be thought leaders, by focusing
on further engagement with its members
by monitoring current trends and issues.
However, PATA will always remain a
strong advocate for the development of
a responsible and sustainable travel and
tourism industry.
What are the key trends you’re seeing
in Asian travel and tourism (inbound
and outbound)?
After having met with ASEAN Tourism
Ministers, I can safely say that an area of
focus for most destinations is the issue of
tourism dispersal. Many countries suffer
from overcrowded tourist destinations
and often times the infrastructure in place
does not support these high number of
tourists. Dispersing tourists to secondary
and tertiary destinations will also help
local communities alleviate poverty
by generating new sources of income
and creating new job opportunities.
This is something that PATA has been
advocating for the past three years and
we are extremely pleased to see countries
embracing this new philosophy.
THOUGHT
LEADERS IN
ASIA-PACIFIC
Exclusive Interview – Mario Hardy –
CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association
reducing food waste in our industry. This
is an issue that everybody in the travel and
tourism industry witnesses. When you go
to any tradeshow, conference or hotel
breakfast buffet, we can see the amount
of food waste that usually goes to landfill
which adversely affects our environment.
On that same day you could walk out of
your hotel and see people in desperate
need of food. At PATA, we want to play our
part and continue to work towards the UN
What interesting new members have
you landed of late?
We value every member that joins the PATA
family, however some of the more wellknown
brands that have recently joined
include PayPal, Airbnb and Royal Brunei
Airlines. In 2017, we welcomed more than
125 members from the public and private
sectors to the Association