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1 Dec, 2016

Alwin Zecha, Executive Chairman, Pacific Leisure Group

ASEAN Travel & Tourism Hall of Fame – Initiated by Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil to recognise the many veterans who helped grow and shape ASEAN tourism over the last 50 years.

Date and Place of Birth: Sukabumi West Java, Indonesia, 4 April 1936.

Died: 12 March 2019

Marital status: Married with one daughter and two sons

Education

From 1941 to 1950, attended Dutch Secondary, Chinese/Japanese School, Dutch/Indonesian Elementary in Indonesia. Thereafter went to the United States and did high school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1952. That was followed by a B.A. Economics, Tufts University,  Medford, Massachusetts 1956 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 1959

Career

– Pacific Leisure Group of Companies, offices in 24 countries throughout Asia-Pacific – Gulf – USA Executive Chairman / Founder – 1970 – present. Operational HQ located in Bangkok since 1994.

– Pacific Communications Limited, Hong Kong, Deputy Chairman & Managing Director 1967-70

– Pacific Contract Limited, Hong Kong, Managing Director – Singapore / Hong Kong 64-67

– Asia Magazines Limited, Hong Kong, Regional Manager-North America, New York 61-64

– Columbia Pictures Television, New York, Vice President & General Manager-Asia, Tokyo / New York 1959-61

– Parker Pen Company, Janesville, Wisconsin, Assistant Export Traffic Manager 1956-57

Other positions

First Chairman – Pacific Asia Travel Association – PATA HRD Council

Honorary Chairman – Asia/Pacific VUSAMART

Hon. Permanent Director – Pacific Asia Travel Association-PATA

Life member – Pacific Asia Travel Association – PATA

President – Pacific Asia Travel Association-PATA (first to serve two consecutive terms) – Faculty – University of Hawaii T.I.M. School-EDIT program

World President Emeritus – International Congress & Convention Association – ICCA

Chairman & Faculty – ICCA/PATA Conference Management Program – CMP

First Chairman – Joint Industry Council of Congress Associations – JICCA

Vice President – East Asia Travel Association-EATA

World President – International Congress & Convention Association – ICCA (two consecutive terms)

Awards

Friend of Thailand – P.M.’s Tourism Award

Gold Medal Recipient – Austria National Tourism Ministry

Although he was located in Hong Kong for many years, Alwin Zecha contributed enormously to the ASEAN travel & tourism industry through his close involvement with PATA, and helping to bring numerous PATA events such as the PATA Travel Mart and Annual Conference to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. He also played a major role in the decision to relocate the PATA HQ from San Francisco to Bangkok in 1998.