Corporate Social Responsibility category added in PATA Gold Awards 2014, entries for all categories open until April 30

Bangkok, 2014-03-11 — /Travel PR News/ — Travel and tourism industry organisations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to successfully promote the travel industry in Asia Pacific can submit entries to the 2014 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Awards until April 30.

To reflect PATA’s commitment to responsible tourism, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category has been introduced this year. Winning entries in all categories of the PATA Gold Awards will be showcased at the PATA Travel Mart, in September in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) for the past 19 years, the PATA Gold Awards set industry standards for excellence and innovation. Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of MGTO said: “It is with great honour that for the 19th consecutive year the Macau Government Tourist Office is once again rendering its support to this meaningful programme of the PATA Gold Awards. We encourage tourism professionals and entities from around the region to come forward and share your best practices, so that your good experiences can inspire the rest of us and have a greater impact on the challenge we shoulder together in order to build a sound and sustainable industry in the Pacific Asia region.”

Mr Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO added: “The Gold Awards have long been acclaimed for their marketing excellence. By introducing a CSR category the Awards will help boost the kind of values that are increasingly important in all aspects of the Asia Pacific visitor economy.”

The PATA Gold Awards are open to PATA members and non-members. Winners will be entitled to leverage the prestigious PATA Gold Awards 2014 logo on their websites and collaterals. The highlights of the winning entries will be on display at the PATA Travel Mart for delegates to enjoy. Award recipients will be featured in the winners’ showcase booklet. Winners also attract valuable media coverage in various PATA communications channels including News@PATA, press releases and social media.

The PATA Gold Awards 2014 are open for submissions until April 30, 2014. Judged by panels of experts, the Gold Awards recognise exceptional achievement in seven categories:

1) Marketing (six Gold Awards and one Grand Award)
2) Environment (three Gold Awards and one Grand Award)
3) Corporate Social Responsibility (one Gold Award)
4) Heritage and Culture (two Gold Awards and one Grand Award)
5) Education and Training (one Gold Award and one Grand Award)
6) Marketing Media (nine Gold Awards)
7) Travel Journalism (four Gold Awards)

PATA Gold Awards details, brochureentry form and information about past winners are all available at www.PATA.org/goldawards

-ENDS-

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.

Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 41 local PATA chapters worldwide, who organise training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA’s membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI,CLIAIATAICAOWEFUNWTO and the WTTC.

The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney, Dubai, London and New York.
Visit www.PATA.org.

Media Contact:
Paul Pruangkarn
PATA Communications
Bangkok Thailand
Tel: +66 2 658 2000
E-mail: Communications@PATA.org 
Online newsroom: www.PATA.org/Press

PATA Grand and Gold Award Winners 2013 at the PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and Presentation, Chengdu, China, September 15, 2013.

PATA Grand and Gold Award Winners 2013 at the PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and Presentation, Chengdu, China, September 15, 2013.