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MANILA, PHILIPPINES, March 29,1998--The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will relocate the Association's operational headquarters from San Francisco, USA to Bangkok, Thailand.
The announcement follows the selection of the new headquarters site by the Association's Executive Committee and the approval of funding today by the PATA Board of Directors during a meeting being held in conjunction with the Association's 47th Annual Conference in Manila, Philippines.
The selection of Bangkok was made after a review of presentations made by PATA-member destinations deemed to be "centrally" located within the PATA region, which stretches from South Asia to North America. Those being considered included Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
"The final decision was quite difficult as each of the participating destinations has very strong individual strengths," said Mr. Joseph A. Mclnerney, PATA Chief Executive Officer. "In the final analysis, the consensus of the Executive Committee was that Bangkok was the best option for PATA at this time."
According to Mr. Mclnerney, the proposal by Thailand included
a number of important points of consideration.
| The central location to the PATA membership |
| An international airport served by 75 airlines, more than any other Asian capital |
| Attractively priced commercial and residential housing |
| Ease of obtaining visa and work permits |
| English-speaking staff availability |
| One of the largest foreign media correspondent bases |
| High quality staff facilities |
According to Mr. McI nerney, with the approval of the new site and the funding to move, PATA will begin the process to find office space with a targeted date for the relocation of late 1998.
"The operational headquarters will include the CEO, communications, marketing, human resources and the Strategic Information Centre," Mr. Mclnerney said. "Even with the move, PATA will remain a U.S.-based not-for-profit association, with the financial accounting and membership services remaining in San Francisco, along with the Americas Division Office."
Founded in 1952 in Hawaii, PATA has been based in San Francisco for more than 40 years. PATA is one of the world's largest private/public sector trade associations, with a membership of 40 national governments throughout Pacific Asia, 76 airlines and cruise lines, 2,200 travel and tourism-related businesses and organisations, and more than 17,000 members in 79 PATA Chapters worldwide
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