New partnership to benefit New Zealand tourism industry and see it contributing at a global level

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is set to benefit New Zealand tourism industry and see it contributing at a global level.

With the major dimension of the partnership being the sharing of insight and information, other aspects of co-operation will include:

• Support for collective policy and advocacy positions 
• Industry connectivity 
• Collaboration on mutual events. 

Under the new agreement, PATA will provide TIANZ with access to its many insight reports that analyse trends in Asia and Pacific tourism, including the excellent aviation data it compiles.

In return TIANZ will provide PATA with relevant New Zealand reports and statistics to help the Bangkok, Thailand-based PATA broaden its own insight base.

Both organisations will then be able to co-brand this information and make it available to their members.

Welcoming the partnership, PATA Chief Executive Mario Hardy explained “we are delighted to be working with Tourism Industry Association New Zealand and believe that this partnership will enable tourism professionals to gain comprehensive tourism insights enabling faster and smarter decisions.

“At PATA, we understand that in today’s environment having access to data and making analytic based decisions is essential in maintaining a competitive advantage.”

TIANZ Chief Executive Chris Roberts says the partnership with PATA supports the goals of Tourism 2025, particularly around improving insights available to the tourism industry.

Roberts added “while we have good information on our own market, New Zealand has a paucity of global market insight that tells us what’s happening elsewhere, especially in Asia and the Pacific.

“This agreement with PATA will give TIA access to information we’ll be able to share with our members and ultimately help them make better decisions in their businesses.”

The partnership will also see TIANZ and PATA supporting each other on policy and advocacy work. This will include support in confronting issues in the Asia and Pacific region such as aviation, climate change and taxation.

Other areas of cooperation will involve TIANZ and PATA providing reciprocal networking opportunities and assisting in providing contacts and introductions to each other’s members and collaboration on events.

With the MOU now signed, implementation of the agreement will happen quickly with TIANZ and PATA aiming to release the first insight material to the industry in early March.

Chris Flynn, Regional Director-Pacific for PATA, and Simon Wallace, Policy and Insight Manager for TIANZ, will oversee the on-going implementation of the agreement.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association 
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, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. In addition, thousands of travel professionals belong to the 43 local PATA chapters worldwide.

The chapters organise travel industry 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.

For more information go to www.PATA.org

Tourism Industry Association New Zealand 
TIANZ is the peak industry body representing all sectors of New Zealand’s large and diverse tourism industry. TIANZ lobbies local and central government to shape policies and create an environment that helps its 1500 members grow and flourish. At the same time it provides targeted assistance to individual members and sector groups. 

TIANZ organises several major tourism industry events each year. These include TRENZ, New Zealand’s largest annual tourism business event, the TIA Summit, The Great Adventure conference and the New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference, as well as regional workshops and seminars.

TIANZ led the development of Tourism 2025, an industry led economic framework for achieving tourism growth.

For more information go to www.tianz.org.nz 

Image shows TIANZ Chief Executive Chris Roberts (left) and PATA Regional Director-Pacific Chris Flynn signing the MOU.

21st November 2014 - MARIO HARDY TAKES ON PATA CHIEF EXECUTIVE ROLE

20th October - LEADERS IN THE HOT SEAT AT 2014 TIANZ SUMMIT