Tourism students for social entrepreneur challenge

Tourism Students in Spotlight at the PATA Social Entrepreneur Challenge

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Tourism Malaysia, and Taylor’s University are inviting students in travel and tourism to participate in the 2012 PATA Social Entrepreneur Challenge, part of the 2012 PATA Annual Conference (PAC2012), April 21-22 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO said: "The commitment to Next Gen paradigm shifts and new thinking will be centre stage during the competition. We will discover the best student business plan. Young people will share their vision for growing the travel industry in a responsible way — PATA Next Gen in action."

The challenge is aimed at undergraduates in tourism, hospitality or culinary arts in higher learning institutions in Asia Pacific. They should be ready to present an innovative sustainable tourism business idea at the PATA Annual Conference, the region’s premier travel industry thought leadership event.

Students are invited to form a team (maximum three persons) and submit a video on a socially responsible tourism business idea on YouTube (maximum 5 minutes). The proposal should fit in with any one of the following themes: changes in travelling patterns; changes in tourism and hospitality sectors; innovation in tourism and hospitality products; exploration of new tourism products; the influence of technology in the tourism industry; and tourism’s extra disciplinary roles. 

Three final teams will be sponsored to present their idea live in front of a panel of the judges and delegates at the PATA Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, April 21-22. Two awards will be granted to a champion judged by travel and tourism experts and the audience’s favourite via the competition’s dedicated Facebook page. 

Fiona Huang Hao, the champion of the 2011 PATA Social Entrepreneur Challenge said: "I never dreamed about this – giving a presentation on an international stage instead of in a classroom, joining an expert forum to discuss the future of the tourism industry and having my picture in the newspapers.

The competition was a valuable opportunity for me to present my ideas at an international conference and to listen to the opinions and comments from industry experts."

Fiona is currently a graduate student, Master of Social Science in Sustainable Tourism, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The deadline for students to submit their idea via video is March 31, 2012. Website: https://sites.google.com/site/patasocialentrepreneur/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/2012-PATA-Social-Entrepreneur-Challenge/317776261603142

Email: [email protected]

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2012 Special Offers HERE