The Pacific Asia Travel Association’s summit in early April was postponed by the pandemic, but the association has bounced back with plans for a virtual event Sept. 23-27. Virtual PATA Travel Mart (PTM) takes the annual B2B contracting and networking event online with plans to both mirror and enhance features of the long-standing show.
“As some destinations have slowly restarted tourism through either domestic or regional travel, eventually international markets will follow. Virtual PTM allows business to begin exploring new opportunities and markets, particularly as travel behaviour and patterns will be dramatically different post COVID-19,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.
“Asia Pacific will be the leading force of tourism’s global recovery from COVID-19, as both an inbound destination as well as a robust source market. In addition, organizations need to start negotiating for recovery in 2021 and Virtual PTM is the perfect place to begin. Therefore, I invite all industry stakeholders to join us as we look towards a rapid, robust, and responsible renewal of the travel and tourism Industry.”
The event is being organized in in conjunction with the Sichuan International Travel Expo and will offer two full business days with a possibility of up to 50 appointments across all time zones from Sept. 24-25 as well as two trade visitor days on Sept. 26-27.
There will also be further networking opportunities at the interactive networking breaks, as well as opportunities to gain deeper insights into the industry at the presentation hall.
Virtual PTM 2020 highlights include:
• Interactive Exhibition Experience – Navigate an interactive map to browse sellers, submit matchmaking requests, view product presentations, and exchange contact information.
• Video Meets – Set up time slots and request meetings supported by video calls, text and voice chat.
• High-Quality Live Forums – Gain insights on travel recovery with live presentations and panels through the PTM Forums.
• Buyer Incentives – Buyers have the opportunity to earn prizes by earning points and completing event missions.
• Games & Giveaways – Join one of the virtual social games and get the chance to win travel giveaways and prizes from our sponsors and partners.
PATA expects the virtual event to reach over 75,000 Chinese and international travel trade professional and provide the ability to market, contract new business, and consolidate existing business relationships.
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.
For more information, visit www.PATA.org/ptm or e-mail ptm@PATA.org.