First ever Charity of the Year announced for Asia Pacific

BANGKOK, Thailand – A global travel site will be helping to raise funds for an Asia Pacific organization through the entire year. This is the first ever partnership of its kinds in the region. Other travel and tourism organizations should take note of how these two will work together for the benefit of the industry.

Leading global travel search site Skyscanner today announced a partnership with the PATA Foundation, its first ever Charity of the Year in Asia Pacific. Throughout the course of 2014, Skyscanner and its employees across Asia Pacific will be helping to raise funds for the PATA Foundation as well as participate in charity projects supported by the foundation. These include key initiatives in education, culture and heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, environmental protection and disaster relief.

Andy Sleigh, General Manager, Asia Pacific, Skyscanner said: “As a leading global travel brand, Skyscanner is committed to the sustainable growth and development of Asia’s travel and tourism visitor economies. It is becoming increasingly important to ensure the continued viability of the environment, people and livelihoods underpinning Asia’s fast growing travel sector, and we are pleased to partner with the PATA Foundation, which plays a leadership role in supporting initiatives related to these goals.”

“We look forward to working with Skyscanner and helping it support the development of sustainable tourism,” said Mario Hardy, Chairman of the PATA Foundation Board of Trustees. “We are very proud to be associated with an innovative and forward-thinking organization such as Skyscanner, especially with its support for local charities and communities in areas where Skyscanner is expanding its business.”

Skyscanner is the number one independent travel search site in the world receiving over 25 million visits per month, with traffic in APAC now accounting for 19% of global traffic – up from 7% in 2011. The company operates in 40 countries worldwide from offices in the UK, Singapore, Beijing and a new office in Miami which opened in late 2013 to capitalize on growth in the Americas.

PATA is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .