About
Experience and
expertise to deliver.
Vision:
A sustainable and prosperous Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry that actively contributes to the economic and social advancement of all people.
Mission:
To advance travel and tourism development throughout the Asia Pacific region in support of vulnerable and underprivileged communities by:
Supporting economic, social and environmental initiatives which help foster the sustainable and equitable growth of the travel and tourism industry.
Since 1984 the PATA Foundation has donated over USD$1.3M, supported over 132 sustainable tourism projects and provided 144 scholarships in 38 countries.
Trustees
Oliver Martin, Chair
A stakeholder engagement specialist with 18+ years of international experience working with leadership organisations, Oliver is an expert in the design and execution of research to identify innovations in marketing and reputation strategy. At Twenty31 he works closely with senior leadership teams to measure competitive performance and brand resonance and navigate the sustainability agenda. He also directs various brand and tourism development consulting engagements including for Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Tourism Nova Scotia, Palau Visitors Authority, Southwest Ontario Tourism, PromPeru and Nunavut Tourism.
Chris Bottrill
Dr. Chris Bottrill is the Dean of the Faculty of Global and Community Studies at Capilano University, North Vancouver BC. He holds a PhD from Victoria University, New Zealand in tourism networks and destination development and has taught a wide array of tourism topics at universities in New Zealand, USA, Austria, and Canada. He has over 20 years of experience in over 50 tourism management and development projects around the globe. Currently, Chris directs the Vietnam Community Tourism project which is now in its fifth year of operation. He has also directed a four-year community tourism project in Paraguay and he has worked with the International Centre of Sustainable Cities on sustainable tourism and multiple stakeholder engagement activities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Abdulla Ghiyas
Abdulla Ghiyas is PATA Face of the Future 2018 and President of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents & Tour Operators (MATATO), which he has led over the past four years. In this capacity, he has helped the independent non-profit organisation with activities that include advocacy, training, recognition, familiarization trips, international trade shows, destination marketing, government lobbying, and whistle-blowing. He is also the Deputy of the Consulate of the Republic of Seychelles to the Maldives.Abdulla is a serial entrepreneur in leading travel and startup businesses such as Inner Maldives Holidays, Ace Travels Maldives, Spence Maldives, Universal Aviation Maldives, and Margaritum, a luxury concierge.
Khem Lakai
Khem Lakai is Founder and CEO of the award winning Global Academy of Tourism & Hospitality Education (GATE College) which has successfully educated and trained over 4,000 students from Nepal and 19 other nationalities since 2007. Khem also co-founded GATE Vocational, FAB School in Pokhara that provides free education together with Rights4Children to most vulnerable youth from all over Nepal. He is Nepal Ambassador for World Innovation Forum, and a Board Member of EUHOFA International. Khem has been advisor to National Vocational Qualification System (NVQS), one of the Swiss funded initiatives of the Ministry of Education in Nepal, and he regularly mentors Nepal's Emerging Leaders Program(NELP) in Vocational Education since 2017.
Tony Lyons
Tony is the Owner and Creative Director of Alphabet® Creative and has over 27 years experience in the marketing and advertising industry. He started Alphabet® in 2000 and is the agency’s lead creative strategist for brand development and messaging platforms. He brings an open and analytical mind to every client problem – working with clients and the Alphabet® team to assess available research, consider stakeholder insight, observe relevant sector trends and ask the hard questions that lead to a succinct and powerful solution. Digital technology is almost always part of the consideration for brand development and includes Tony’s keen observations about consumer experience and the importance of creating a brand platform to engage both internal and external channels – it’s not what you say you are, it is who you are that makes for a powerful brand experience. Under Tony’s leadership, Alphabet® has been the lead agency for major brand re-development projects for clients across a variety of sectors including tourism and healthcare.
Phornsiri Manoharn
Mrs. Phornsiri Manoharn, PATA Life Member and PATA Chairman (2009/2010), has attended her first PATA Annual Meeting in Japan in 1973 and has remained an enthusiastic supporter of the Association ever since. She retired as Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in March 2009 after a long and distinguished career in public service. She played an exceptional role in directing Thailand’s tourism and provided important leadership to an industry that generates an important and significant contribution to Thailand’s GDP. Mrs. Manoharn has held a number of other executive and advisory positions in domestic and international tourism and hospitality-related organizations where she has enjoyed many opportunities to share her career experience and knowledge. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, her many accolades include the ‘2008 Outstanding Award for Female Executive’ from the Ministry of Labour, ‘2009 Outstanding Person of the Year Award for Economic Development’ from the Office of the Prime Minister, as well as many Royal Decorations.
Al Merschen
During his time as an educator at several universities, Merschen started consulting projects for a variety of industries. This is when he discovered it was travel that captivated his real interest. Merschen created Myriad, specializing exclusively in the international travel industry with private clients and governments on five continents. For over 30 years, Merschen developed strategic solutions to client challenges, creating industry partnerships, research projects and global solutions. Today, Myriad represents more tourist offices than any company in North America. In 2016 Myriad became part of MMGY Global portfolio of companies. As a partner at MMGY, his focus is on the development of International Insights. Always the educator, he has conducted marketing presentations throughout the world.
Ben Montgomery
Ben is a corporate ambassador for Centara Hotels & Resorts, the sustainable growing Thai-owned hotel chain. She is responsible for strengthening relations between Centara and the owners of Centara-managed hotels currently located in 11 countries in Asia and Indian Ocean. Ben represents Centara in various Industry Councils and Associations. She currently is a Vice Chairperson of PATA Thailand Chapter, a Hospitality Committee Member & Board Member of PATA, Trustee of PATA Foundation and a Chairperson of International Relations Committee for Thai Hotels Association (THA). She was an elected member of Executive Board of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in 2016-2018, a member of Academic Committee of Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT). She was a Chairperson for PATA Thailand Chapter in 2014-2015 She is a frequent speaker at tourism industry events including PATA’S and a guest lecturer at Universities in Thailand, Philippines and China. Currently, Ben is also representing TCT & THA at Joint Public & Private Working Committee to develop workforce from Thailand Vocational Education for Hotel and Tourism Industry.
Stewart Moore
Stewart Moore is one of the Asia Pacific's most experienced planning and management consultants. He has over 25 years of experience in a wide range of disciplines from business and strategic planning, policy development, tourism destination management and marketing, sustainability, risk management and corporate and social responsibility. He is the founder and CEO of EC3 Global , Chairman of the National Centre for Studies in Travel and Tourism and Executive Director for the APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism. Stewart is an active board director on a wide range of both public and private tourism, research and development boards. In 2013 Stewart was named in the Global list of the top 100 sustainability professionals (ABC Carbon Singapore). He has co- authored a wide range of books and publications in the areas of destination management, risk and crisis management, strategic and regional planning and product development.
Liz Ortiguera
Liz Ortiguera is a regional/global executive who has worked in multiple industries for over 25 years - Travel, Lifestyle, Financial Services and Pharmaceuticals. After an initial career in the pharmaceutical industry as a scientist/engineer, she embarked on an 18 year career with American Express in Asia involving strategy, marketing, product development, business development, operations and general management. For 10 years she was the General Manager for Amex's Travel Partner Network across 28 countries in Asia-Pacific managing partnerships with the top TMC, MICE and leisure agencies in the region. She is currently consulting in travel tech and leadership education and recently launched a travel social enterprise. Its focus is on providing educational travel experiences and business case projects for corporates and university students to learn about and contribute to social impact programs. In her personal life, Liz has been a continual advocate for poverty eradication programs and education initiatives in Cambodia and the Philippines in addition to recently joining the PATA Foundation. Liz is an alumni of Stanford University Graduate Business School, Columbia University Business School, New York University and The Cooper Union in New York.
Scott Supernaw
Mr Supernaw has extensive experience in global marketing and business development from well-established brands in the travel industry. The companies he has worked with include Trans World Airlines, Getaway Tour brand; General Mills Inc., Olson-Travelworld Ltd., and Tauck World Discovery where he led their expansion into the international tour market. He is a founding member and past 2-term Chairman of the United States Tour Operators Association. Mr Supernaw is also past Chairman of PATA and past Chairman of the PATA Foundation.