BANGKOK, 2014-6-3 — /Travel PR News/ — The PATA Foundation is pleased to announce the election ofPeter Semone as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr Semone replaces Mario Hardywho has served as Chairman since June 2012. Mr Hardy was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in January 2014. He will continue to support and advise the PATA Foundation as needed.
Peter Semone said: “It’s an honour to be elected Chair of the PATA Foundation which has a proud history as a force for social good, heritage protection and human capacity building right across the region.”
Mr Semone currently serves as Chief Technical Advisor of the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (Lanith), a project being implemented under the auspices of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Lao PDR and Luxembourg. Lanith, headquartered in Vientiane, Lao PDR, seeks to improve the quality and competitiveness of tourism sector human resources in Lao PDR.
Prior to Lanith, he served as Team Leader of the Asian Development Bank-funded Mekong Tourism Development Project (MTDP) in Vietnam. MTDP focused on small-scale infrastructure development and capacity building measures in support of the tourism sector. Mr Semone also served as Vice President of PATA where he was responsible for directing its regional offices in Europe, the Americas, the Pacific and China and providing strategic leadership to PATA’s many regional and global initiatives. Early in his career, Peter founded a destination management company, which managed shore logistics for major cruise ship visits to ports in Indonesia.
In addition, the PATA Foundation has elected seven new members to its Board of Trustees including, Dr. Chris Bottrill, Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management, Capilano University, Canada; Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR; Basant Raj Mishra, Executive Chairman, Venture, Travel (Temple Tiger) Nepal; Stewart Moore, CEO, EC3 Global, Australia; Stephen Pearce, Vice President, Leisure Travel & Digital Marketing, Tourism Vancouver, Canada; Inder Sharma, Chairman, Select Holiday Resorts, India; and Shukun Zhang, Dean, Tourism School of Hubei Vocational Technical College, Hubei, China.
Furthermore, Mr Jones, who has over 40 years experience working in a number of senior management and corporate positions in prestigious hotels, resorts and management companies worldwide, has been elected Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Mr Jones founded and became Guardian of Sanctuary Resorts in 1996. Sanctuary Resorts offers responsible and sustainable tourism experiences where people can balance their body, mind and spirit in an environmentally friendly space.
He is a leading proponent of corporate social responsibility and wellness in tourism, and believes in directly contributing to the community in which he lives. Mr Jones is also Chairman Emeritus of the KELY (Kid’s Everywhere Like You) Support Group, a Past President of the Rotary Club of Kowloon, and a supporter of numerous other Charitable organizations and Social Ventures in Hong Kong.
Existing members of the Board of Trustees include Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka; Gloria C Henderson, Travel Consultant, HNL Travel Associates, USA; andNobutaka Ishikure, Chairman, Goltz et ses amis, Japan.
The PATA Foundation contributes to the sustainable and responsible development of travel and tourism in Asia Pacific through the protection of the environment, the conservation of heritage, and support for education.
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About the PATA Foundation
The PATA Foundation is a natural extension of PATA’s dedication to the principles of conservation, which are part of the Association’s charter. When the concept of a charitable foundation was first proposed at the 33rd PATA Annual Conference in 1984, there was unanimous member approval. The Foundation’s mission is to contribute to the sustainable and responsible development of travel and tourism in Asia Pacific through the protection of the environment, the conservation of heritage and support for education. Visit www.PATAfoundation.org.
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,CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO 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.
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Picture: Top Row L/R: Peter Semone, Chief Technical Advisor, Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality; Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR; Chris Bottrill, Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management, Capilano University, Canada; Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels Ltd., Sri Lanka; Gloria C Henderson, Travel Consultant, HNL Travel Associates, USA; and Nobutaka Ishikure, Chairman, Goltz et ses amis, Japan. Bottom Row L/R: Basant Raj Mishra, Executive Chairman, Venture, Travel (Temple Tiger) Nepal; Stewart Moore, CEO, EC3 Global, Australia; Stephen Pearce, Vice President, Leisure Travel & Digital Marketing, Tourism Vancouver, Canada; Inder Sharma, Chairman, Select Holiday Resorts, India; Shukun Zhang, Dean, Tourism School of Hubei Vocational Technical College, Hubei, China; and Kornchalee “Kay” Tantimongkonsakul, Manager – Internal Affairs, PATA.