EVOLVING DIMENSION
A travel connoisseur and a true global citizen, MARIO HARDY, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), gives a lowdown on PATA Travel Mart 2016 and the exhibition industry’s growth.
What is in store for PATA Travel Mart 2016? PATA Travel Mart ( PTM) 2015 was extremely successful with over 1,500 delegates in attendance. PTM 2016 will be hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia, with the support of PATA Indonesia Chapter and will take place in Jakarta from September 7-9. Alongside this year’s travel mart, on September 7, we will be hosting a PATA Travel l Innovation Forum in partnership with Phocuswright and Connecting Travel and a Blogger Forum in collaboration with the Professional Travel Bloggers Association (PBTA). This year for the first time, we will also have a Digital Hub, an exhibition platform dedicated to innovative technology impacting the travel and tourism business. The Digital Hub provides online, technology and digital marketing companies the opportunity to showcase their business, and is an exciting addition to the mart. How has the show progressed over the years given that there have been several editions of it? PTM may be 38 years old and one of the oldest travel trade shows in the Asia Pacific, but it has evolved in r recent years to be a place for business, network and kn knowledge sharing, where ind industry friends gather an and where new relationships ar are built. PATAPA Travel Mart (PTM) hash maintained its low costc approach to trade shows,s offering Small and Medium-sizedM Enterprises (SMEs)( the perfect platform to trade with similar counterparts in new destinations. PTM has the unique feature of moving from destination to destination every year providing its host the opportunity to showcase what it has to offer to global tourists and trade professionals. What else is on PATA’s radar for the rest of the year? We have several other activities planned for this year besides PATA Travel Mart such as the PATA Global Insight Conference 2016 (PGIC 2016) on September 30 in Auckland, New Zealand, followed by the 10th UNWTO/PATA Anniversary Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook in Guilin, China from October 20-22. We then have the New Tourism Frontier Forum 2016 taking place in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh
from November 23-25, after which the PAT AcademyHCD will take place from December 7-9, at our Engagement Hub in Bangkok.
What do you think about the state of tourism exhibitions across the globe?
The global events calendar has got really busy over the recent years; there is not a week when there isn’t a tourism related event in the world. The vast growth of tourist arrivals in Asia has been matched with an increased interest in events being organised in the region. Unfortunately, terror attacks have become frequent and happening in places we would least expect. The affected destination gets impacted almost instantly with event organisers questioning if it is safe for them to host their upcoming events in these areas. We all wish that event organisers do not give up on the destination, but they also have a responsibility to protect their business interests and the safety of their employees and delegates.
Has technology impacted the exhibition space?
Exhibitions are still very much based on the need for human interaction; the need to shake hands and meet people face-to-face. Technology and social media have helped spread the word about upcoming events faster and more widely, potentially reaching out to a greater audience. In addition, mobile applications are helping delegates interact with each other before, during and after the event.
What are some of the aspects you would like to see more emphasis on at trade shows?
I am a strong believer that smaller, human-size, niche trade shows are more effective and offer a well-targeted audience a more realistic way to engage in conversations that will deliver better results. I would like to see more educational programmes and more social interaction between delegates – it drives an exchange of information that will probably help cover more issues and challenges and solving problems becomes that much easier.