News from PATA

News@PATA:
Reproduced with kind permission from PATA

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Read previous editions of News@PATA on TravelMole:
15 October, 1 October, 19 September, 20 August, 6 August, 23 July, 9 July, 25 June, 11 June, 28 May, 14 May, 30 April, 2 April 2001, 19 March 2001, 5 March 2001, 20 February 2001, 5 February 2001, 22 January 2001, 27 December 2000, 13 December 2000, 27 November 2000, 3 November 2000, 18 October 2000, 4 October 2000, 18 September 2000, 5 September 2000, 21 August 2000, 7 August 2000, 24 July 2000, 10 July 2000, 26 June 2000, 12 June 2000, 29 May 2000, 8 May 2000

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PATA’s Issues and Trends:
Issue 10, October 2001: Tourism research turns for the better
Issue 8, August 2001: Asia’s fight against poverty
Issue 7, July 2001: APEC’s plans to boost tourism
Issue 6, June 2001: Protesting Globalisation
Issue 4, April 2001: The myth of endless tourism growth
Issue 3, March 2001: Global warming and the future of travel
Issue 2, February 2001: High-tech and the SQ Factor
Issue 1, January 2001: Travel agents strike back

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What’s new in Pacific Asia:
September 2001
August 2001 News and Travel Specials
July 2001 News and Travel Specials

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News@PATA
December 24, 2001

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM PATA
The Pacific Asia Travel Association wishes you a joyful holiday season and a healthy, peaceful and prosperous new year!

CONFERENCE HOTEL RATES LOWERED
To encourage additional participation in the 51st PATA Annual Conference (April 14-18, 2002) and to lend support to our members, the India Organising Committee and the Official Conference Hotels are reducing hotel rates for all delegates:
* Category A Hotels: US$100 per night, inclusive of all taxes (total cost of US$400 for the four-night package)
* Category B Hotels: US$80 per night, inclusive of all taxes (total cost of US$320 for the four-night package)
PATA will contact all registered delegates who have already booked and paid for their hotel rooms, and they will be credited for the appropriate difference in rates. For Conference information and registration, visit PATAnet at www.pata.org. Or e-mail your inquiry to [email protected].

NEW-LOOK “WHAT’S NEW” ON THE WAY
On January 8, PATA will release its new-look e-newsletter What’s New in Pacific Asia. It will have a new easier-to-read layout with dedicated sections on Travel News & Product Updates, Great Package Deals, Statistical Trends, Airlines & Airports, North American Destination News, and Appointments. What’s New in Pacific Asia is distributed to media, PATA members and PATA chapter chairpersons. Please submit any news items to [email protected] no later than January 3, 2002.

REACH TOP-END READERS WITH GLOBAL TRAVELLER
The second annual edition of the PATA-endorsed Global Traveller magazine will be released at the end of January 2002. The A4 quality bound, 116-page travel magazine is being targeted at ABC 1 travellers and distributed onboard business and first class cabins on select airlines. PATA members will receive a discount on published rates. For further information visit www.maskcommunications.com. Or e-mail [email protected].

GOLD AWARDS DEADLINE JANUARY 10
January 10, 2002 is the deadline to submit entries for the PATA 2002 Gold Awards — the premier awards programme that recognises excellence and innovation in the Pacific Asia travel industry. Award recipients will be honoured during a gala luncheon at the 51st PATA Annual Conference in New Delhi, India. Details and entry forms are available at www.pata.org. PATA’s Gold Awards are sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office. For more information on how you or your organisation can enter, contact PATA Manager-Communications, Ms. Paveena Olansuksakul. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: [email protected].

THE FUTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY
For the second year, in lieu of sending holiday cards, PATA is investing in the future of the travel industry by sponsoring an additional scholarship for the Executive Development Institute for Tourism (EDIT) programme at the School of Travel Industry Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa. The intensive three-week programme in June 2002 features lectures, class discussions, case studies, group presentations and field visits. Employees and owners of PATA-member companies and organisations are eligible to apply for the five scholarships, each worth US$2,100, which cover nearly half of the cost of the programme. For more information, visit http://www.tim.hawaii.edu. For scholarship details, contact Mr. Tongchan “Aye” Srinava in Bangkok. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: [email protected]. Questions about the EDIT programme should be directed to Ms. Rachel Soma in Hawaii. E-mail: [email protected].

TTW MONTREAUX, SWITZERLAND
The PATA Switzerland Chapter will again hold a stand at TTW Montreux, Switzerland on October 29-31, 2002. PATA members may opt for brochure distribution by PATA personnel or own staff (but no corporate identity/decoration) or subtenancy at the PATA stand (includes brochure distribution, corporate identity with own decoration and an exhibitor badge). For further information please e-mail: [email protected].

ZURICH GO-BETWEEN 2002
The PATA Switzerland Chapter Go-Between will be held on March 13, 2002 in Zurich. It is an invaluable opportunity to meet Swiss tour operators and buyers before the ITB. Registration costs US$450; special room rates have been negotiated with the Marriott Hotel in Zurich. For further information contact Detlev K.E. Bandi. E-mail: [email protected].

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON THAILAND?
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is surveying foreign tourist opinions about travel in Thailand. Whether you have been to Thailand once, many times or never, the TAT is interested in your opinions. To access the questionnaire visit http://chalethill.com/tat/intro.html. By returning the online questionnaire you are automatically included in a lucky draw.

PATA STRATEGIC INFORMATION CENTRE WORLDWATCH
* EU Finance Ministers have agreed to levy a value-added tax on Internet products for material outside the EU which is downloaded by EU resident citizens. It seems this will even the playing field as EU bricks and mortar businesses already levy such a tax while their non-EU competitors do not. At the moment the tax is set to be applied for only three years and will focus on music, software and game downloads. What will the non-EU supplier reaction will be?
* While carriers struggle with poor load factors and low yields, some companies are looking for growth in the fractional-jet business where affluent travellers buy shares in private jets for use on demand. Such aircraft are not necessarily all 10-seaters. The Airbus Corporate jet, for example, seats 50 and flies in excess of 950 km/hour. This is a small aviation niche, but could be quite profitable.
* As well as drug-related crime and cybercrime, we now have caviar crime. The profits from smuggling caviar from Russia are just too tempting for some who use “mules” (or carriers) to move relatively large quantities of the expensive treat. There is a dark side. Stocks of sturgeon — the fish producing the highest grade caviar — have declined by as much as 80 percent and could very easily vanish entirely if not first protected and then managed in a sustainable manner.

PATANET QUICK LINKS
Listen to PATAradio at http://www.travelmedia.com/PATAradio
View special promotions at http://www.seeyouinpacificasia.com
Register for the 25th PATA Travel Mart at http://www.patatravelmarket.com/page.cfm
Register for the 51st PATA Annual Conference at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=2&ebid=29
Register for the Pacific Tourism Exchange at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=2&ebid=31
Visit PATA-member airlines at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=4
Explore our destination links at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=3
Order PATA publications at http://www.pata.org/frame3.cfm?pageid=6
Check out our press room at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=12
Post a job opening or find a position at http://www.pata.org/frame.cfm?pageid=7

KEEPING MEMBERS INFORMED
Copyright (c) 2001 by the Pacific Asia Travel Association