February 13, 2002

    India has been given the privilege of hosting the 2002, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Conference in New Delhi, the largest ever International Tourism Conclave held in the country. About 1500 delegates amongst 100 Governments’ representatives, 65 CEOs of Airlines, CEOs of Travel & Tourism companies, President of well-known hotel chains and opinion makers in Travel & Tourism industry will participate in the Conference from April 14-18, 2002. Indications are that this time delegates are giving special importance to the PATA conference as they feel the conference being organised after 11^th September’s attack, will send the message to the world that peace and harmony can be achieved through tourism. Teams from Indonesia and Malaysia are already here to tie up arrangements for the events to be hosted by their Tourism Boards during the conference.

    The conference will provide a rare opportunity to India and specially Delhi to showcase its products as delegates not only attend the conference but also visit the places in and around. Delhi will get a chance to project its cultural heritage and its various facets. Tourism will get a definite boost with this conference which is coming to India after a gap of 24 years.

    The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee will inaugurate the conference and it will be addressed by luminaries like Mr. Michael Elliott, Editor, TIME Inc. U.S., Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Former Foreign Minister, Thailand, Ms. Clara Chong, Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mr. Thomas Oliver, Chairman and CEO, Six Continents Hotels, U.K., Ms. Sue Shapiro, CTC, President, Shapiro Travel Resources,

    U.S., Mr. Jeff Hamblin, Chief Executive, British Tourist Authority, Mr. Renton De Alwis, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Board, Mr. Brock Freissen, Vice President, Star Alliance, Germany, Mr. Richard Beere, Regional Director, Australia Tourism Board and Mr. Richard Gordon, Secretary, Tourism etc. Shri Jagmohan, Minister for Tourism & Culture, Shri Karan Singh and Professor Ramaswamy will also address the conference. Subjects to be taken during the conference includes ; "Tourism – Looking Ahead and Beyond", "Key Trends For The Future and Main Influences", "Aviation: Where to From Here", "Global Marketing: New World, New Challenges", "Economic and Demographic Change in The New World Order" and "Sustainable Tourism in a Fragile Environment".

    Releasing the Logo for the PATA conference here today, the Director General of Tourism, Shri V.K. Duggal said that conference is being organised with the active participation of travel and tourism industry, hospitality sector and Government of National Capital Territory Delhi and various civic bodies. He appealed to the people to come forward to make the conference grand success by presenting Delhi an ideal destination. He recalled the similar appeals made by tourism and Culture Minister Shri Jagmohan and Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Shiela Dixit recently for helping to project Delhi a neat and clean and tourist friendly city. He said that Qutub Minar in the Logo gives the glimpses of cultural heritage of Delhi, earthen colour background shows the commitment to eco-tourism and script 2002 signifies richness of our traditional arts.

    Shri Duggal said that India will be attaching major focus to the growth and development of tourism in the coming years. This prestigious Conference will provide a competitive edge to India in marketing inbound tourism. The conference indeed is designed to provide a major fillip to the efforts that are being made in reversing the trend of downturn in tourism as an aftermath of the global economic slowdown and the terrorists’ attacks of September 2001, he added.