Travel Impact Newswire

31 Aug 2025

PATA Young Gen’s curate historic images for 75th anniversary campaign

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — An exhibition of historic photographs conceptualised and curated by two Young Gen PATA staffers marks the start of a year-long campaign by the Pacific Asia Travel Association to commemorate its Diamond Jubilee 75th anniversary in 2026. Like all efforts to preserve culture and heritage, it will allow the global Travel & Tourism industry to revisit the glory days of PATA and also uplift the level of recognition and respect for tourism history.

At the same time, the ground-breaking effort will facilitate a serious study of why PATA fell from being the region’s leading travel industry body to survival-mode status today. That, in turn, will convert the lessons of the past into catalysts for building a truly better, safe and sustainable future.

Under the theme, “From Vision to Legacy: PATA at 75,”, the campaign was launched on Aug 25 at the PATA Knowledge Forum 2025 in conjunction with the PATA Travel Mart 2025 (PTM 2025) in Bangkok. It is designed to celebrate the Association’s unmatched contribution to raising Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism to new heights while struggling to preserve the product and maintain the balance — a challenge which was well recognised 50 years ago and remains unresolved today.

In his announcement speech, PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid said, “Seventy-four years ago, our founders came together when the world longed for peace, healing, and hope. Their vision was simple yet powerful: to use travel as a bridge between cultures, as a pathway to prosperity, and as a passport to peace. That vision continues to guide us today, reminding us that the work we do is not just about tourism, but about connecting people and creating understanding across borders.”

He added, “It is in that same spirit — honoring the founders’ vision and embracing our ongoing mission — that I am delighted to officially launch the celebrations for PATA’s 75th Anniversary in 2026.”

In the concept paper presented to and approved by Mr Noor, the PATA communications team said, “This initiative is a recognition of the strong connections and partnerships that have been formed throughout PATA’s history. Throughout the years, with bases in two different regions and projects in numerous global destinations, PATA has been fortunate enough to connect with many people and experience diverse places.”

The exhibition was curated by PATA Marketing Manager An Sheng (Alice) Gong, 25, a Taiwanese, and Communications Executive Prapimchun (Moowan) Soonthornpanich, 24, a Thai — a pleasant reminder that at least a few Young-Gens recognise and respect the value of history. More about them can be found on their LinkedIn profiles.

Working under the supervision of PATA Marketing Communications Manager Paul Pruangkarn, the team cleaned, organised and digitised PATA’s records, images and archives to create “a clear, chronological timeline detailing PATA’s key engagements, initiatives, and projects throughout its history.”

These historical photos have been uploaded on to a dedicated webpage headlined: “Lost in Time, Found by You: Your Memories Complete the Picture” [https://www.pata.org/lost-in-time-found-by-you].

As many of the people, places, or moments are unknown to the team members, they are inviting visitors to look at each photo, recognise any of the details and help PATA piece together its history. They also encourage visitors to upload their own PATA-related photos, stories, and memories. “Even the smallest detail is valuable,” they say.

One such valuable detail is in a photograph showing Mrs Glenys Coughlan, a former PATA President (now known as chairman) giving a talk to the PATA India chapter, then headed by former PATA President Inder Sharma, on “Values-based Tourism”. Coined after the historic PATA conference on the Environment in Bali in 1991, the term is identical in concept to the current “Meaningful Tourism” Mission and Vision statement adopted by PATA.

The “Values-based tourism” concept was presented as part of a PATA communications strategy at a Management Committee meeting in New Zealand in April 1995. The image below shows how it was described in that Management Committee report (which is in my own private archives):

To attract further attention to the webpage and generate membership interest, the PATA Comms team set up special booth at the PTM 2025 (image below), where interested parties could see old slides from the PATA archives. The slides were being shown via a vintage projector which Alice found at Bangkok’s famous flea-market at Chatuchak Park and bought for 2,500 baht.

I perused several of the slides and saw another valuable detail. One slide shows a presentation being made about the measurement of travel. This, too, is identical in concept to the latest call by PATA chairman Peter Semone for a different set of indicators to measure the impact of tourism.

These images prove that both the concept of “Meaningful Tourism” and New Measurement Indicators for Tourism were already on the PATA agenda three decades ago. By the time PATA moved to Bangkok in 1999, both had fallen off the radar screen. Because no-one knows why that happened, PATA is today reinventing the wheel.

The slide show yielded more valuable details. I spotted three veterans from the 1990s who attended last week’s PTM in person. Here they are…

Next steps in the “From Vision to Legacy: PATA at 75,” will be a digital scrapbook, which will provide a visual and narrative journey through PATA’s past, and a series of social media engagements focused on historic milestones to encourage participants to share their own memories and connections with PATA. Both are set to launch in the coming months.

The PATA 75th Anniversary will be celebrated throughout the year. The campaign will then take full shape with its official launch at the PATA Annual Summit in May 2026 across the cities of Gyeongju and Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Korea (ROK).