PATA Mart returns to the Philippines

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will organise the PATA Travel Mart 2012, September 25-28 at the SMX Convention Center, Manila.

The event is hosted by the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines.  The national campaign, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” will offer delegates the opportunity to tap into new energy levels, business growth and a mood of optimism that will be apparent on the show floor and in B2B transactions at the Mart.

 “PATA Next Gen and our Philippine hosts will create new business opportunities in a relaxed, fun environment throughout the PATA Travel Mart in Manila,” said PATA CEO, Martin J Craigs.

The first ever PATA Travel Mart was held in the Philippines in 1978. For more than three decades, PATA Travel Mart has been Asia Pacific’s best travel contracting and networking show. It regularly attracts over 1,000 delegates from all over the world.

This year, PATA has invested further in the matching system from pre-scheduled appointments. It means that specific buyer-seller needs will be better met than before. “Buyers and sellers keep coming back because they know they get great results through PATA’s excellent pre-scheduled and quality controlled appointment schedule,” said Craigs.  

Last year PTM 2011 in New Delhi was a major success for both buyers and sellers. PTM2011 delivered 302 buyer delegates from 50 countries and 625 seller delegates from 288 organisations in 30 countries.

Philippines tourism is soaring high. In 2011 Philippines’ visitor arrivals for the year were up 11.3% to over 3.9 million. In Q1 2012, the growth rate increased to 16%. The top five markets going to the Philippines in 2011 were Korea, USA, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

Filipinos are travelling more for leisure and business. For outbound, the number of travellers from Philippines to multiple Asia Pacific destinations increased 8% in 2011. Leading destinations such as Singapore, Korea (ROK) and Thailand showed outstanding results with more than double-digit growth in arrivals from the Philippines.  

Other highlights of the Mart are top level intelligence insights by a panel of leading industry voices. At PTM in Manila there will be hot topic coverage including “Do You Know What You Need to Know – AEC2015?” “CIVETS and other Emerging Markets,” and “mTourism – How Mobile Technology is Changing Tourism.”