Sichuan Tourism School to host PATA Youth Symposium April 2015

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Human Capital Development Committee will organize a PATA Youth Symposium on the morning of Thursday, April 23, at Sichuan Tourism School.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Human Capital Development Committee will organize a PATA Youth Symposium on the morning of Thursday, April 23, at Sichuan Tourism School. Under the theme โ€œTechnology and Social Media for Tourism,โ€ the symposium will commence prior to the PATA Annual Summit 2015 and aims to attract hundreds of young professionals and students from overseas and around China.

Mr. Mario Hardy, PATA CEO said: โ€œPATA sees the importance of our young generation who need to build a solid background in order to become leaders in the tourism industry. The PATA Youth Symposium is a perfect platform for them to learn and to share their views on current travel and tourism issues and challenges with experienced travel industry professionals.โ€

The programme was developed with guidance from Dr Chris Bottrill, Chairman of the PATA Human Capital Development Committee and Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, Capilano University. Dr Bottrill noted that the tourism industry is entering into an unprecedented time where the market has significant influence over the success of businesses and destinations through their capacity to communicate through social media and various on-line forums. This has the benefit of enhancing tourism opportunity for small to large operations and remote to established destinations, however it also means that there is greater scrutiny and greater pressure on operators and destinations to provide exceptional levels of customer service plus unique and quality experiences. The symposium is designed to present ideas and generate discussion from the audience so that we can learn together. The outcome will be enhanced understanding about ways in which technology and social media will affect our industry and the Next Generation of tourism professionals in China.

The symposium will include plenary talks on various topics including:

On-line Consumer Reviews and the Impact on Operators and Destinations
PATAmPOWER and other on-line data sources to enhance business success
Digital Marketing and Travel Distribution Emerging Trends
Creative on-line Destination and Business Approaches and Successes
All participants will also share their views in roundtable discussions on the following topics:
How your views and decisions are shaped by on-line marketing and social media
How technology and social media will influence tourism in the future in China
How technology and social media will affect your careers and futures in tourism

Mr. Zhao Xiao-hong, Professor and Schoolmaster of Sichuan Tourism School, added, โ€œWe are very delighted to host the PATA Youth Symposium at our school. It is a great opportunity for our students to enhance their skills in organizing this international event, to expand their vision and build their future careers. The PATA Youth Symposium is also a great platform for Sichuan Tourism School to expand our exposure at the international level. We wish all participants a great success.โ€

In recent years, the PATA Human Capital Development Committee has organized successful educational events at various institutions including UCSI University Sarawak Campus (April 2010), Institute for Tourism Studies (September 2010), Beijing International Studies University (April 2011) and Taylor’s University, Kuala Lumpur (April 2012), Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila (September 2012), Thammasat University, Bangkok (April 2013), Chengdu Polytechnic, Huayuan Campus, China (September 2013), Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai Campus, China, (May 2014) and Royal University of Phnom Penh (September 2014).

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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