This year’s PATA Travel Mart, one of the longest-running travel trade shows in the Asia-Pacific region, gets underway this month, in an online format for the second consecutive year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners of this year’s PATA Gold Awards will also be announced in a live virtual ceremony after the travel mart.
From 2 to 5 September, Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2021 will be held in a 100% digital format, making it easy for delegates to stay up-to-date with the latest travel products, maintain connections, and build relations with new business partners.
Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2021 is staged by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) to create an annual opportunity to learn about industry trends and access important information, gaining insights and advice from trusted travel agents and informed tourism professionals.
It is being organised in conjunction with the Sichuan International Travel Expo (SITE) with the support of Official Event Partner, the Leshan Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, and is driven by the Official Virtual Event Partner, Dragon Trail Interactive.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is participating in PATA Travel Mart with a virtual booth, hosting a total of 10 representatives from the Macao travel trade to help promote the city, as well as for business-to-business meetings and networking sessions.
MGTO Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, also features among the speakers of PATA Travel Mart Forum, in a session themed “Destination Recovery Insight from Pacific & Northeast Asia”, to share Macao’s experience on how the city is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and is preparing towards recovery.
The event will include streamed content from Leshan, Sichuan province, the featured destination, and include the live streaming of the opening ceremony of the Sichuan International Travel Expo.
It includes opportunities to hear insights about the industry through high-quality forums. Special interactive networking breaks are scheduled with a number of organisations. The business days of the event, to be held on 2 and 3 September, also promise as many as 50 one-on-one meeting appointments.
The event’s full programme is available online at www.pata.org.
PATA Gold Awards virtual ceremony on 8 September
MGTO is actively involved in PATA’s mission. This year, the Office has continued its sponsorship for the 26th consecutive year of the PATA Gold Awards, the annual awards for the finest achievements in the Asia-Pacific travel trade. The list of winners of this year’s awards will be announced live by PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera and MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes in a ceremony conducted online.
This year, PATA will present two “Grand Title Winners” for “best of show” entries and 18 Gold Awards in two broad categories – “Marketing”, and “Sustainability and Social Responsibility”.
The virtual ceremony for the PATA Gold Awards takes place on 8 September, and will be broadcast to a global audience on the PATA YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/c/PATATV.
MGTO and Macao travel trade will again take part in this year’s Virtual PATA Travel Mart 
MGTO Director will once again join PATA CEO to announce this year’s PATA Gold Awards winners in a live streaming ceremony