Over 260 delegates from across the globe convene under the theme: “Timeless Wisdom for a Sustainable Future”.

Held under the theme “Timeless Wisdom for a Sustainable Future”, PAS 2025 brought together over 260 delegates from 35 destinations, including senior government officials – such as H.E. Hak Huot, Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, and Meenas Shaugy, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Environment of Maldives – private sector leaders, academics, and youth representatives from across the Asia Pacific and beyond. Delegates came from as far as the Pacific islands, including Guam and Palau, to North Asia with participants from Japan, Korea (ROK), and China, Central Asia including Azerbaijan, the Middle East with Saudi Arabia, as well as South Africa, the United States, and various parts of Europe.

Strengthening the Foundation: PATA’s Internal Milestones

PAS 2025 was not only a space for dialogue and discovery – it also marked a defining moment for the Association’s internal growth and governance. The Summit began with a series of productive internal meetings over the first day and a half, including:

– Ratification of a new Vision and Mission for the Association
– Formal approval of the PATA Executive Board and Board members
– Strategic discussions that advanced the PATA 2030 Strategy, setting the course for a more agile, inclusive, and impact-driven Association.

These milestones reflect PATA’s commitment to evolving its role as the leading voice for responsible tourism in Asia Pacific and beyond, and to strengthening its impact through renewed focus and leadership.

Leadership Messages: A Call for Purpose-Driven Tourism

Opening the main conference on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 22, PATA Chair Peter Semone delivered a compelling call to action, urging the global tourism industry to adopt a more purposeful and impact-focused approach to growth.

“Tourism cannot survive without peace, nature, and community,” said Semone. “In an era of climate instability and rising polarization, the tourism sector must go beyond growth metrics and instead become a vehicle for empathy, humility, and peace. That is the path to regeneration and resilience.”

Later, in the Thought Leaders Session: Timeless Wisdom for a Sustainable Future, PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid reflected on tourism’s deeper value: “Tourism is an emotional economy. What we truly take away from travel are the moments, memories, and human connections. PAS 2025 is our opportunity to commit to tourism that uplifts, heals, and endures.”

Global Voices, Shared Commitments

With participants from across the Asia Pacific and beyond – including Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea (ROK), Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the USA, and more – the Summit featured over 40 speakers from leading organisations such as UN Tourism, BBC, Mastercard, Skyscanner, Amadeus, Airbnb, GSTC, and Tripadvisor.

Highlights from the programme included:

– PATA Policy Forum: Building a Sustainable Future: Government-led dialogue on policy innovation
– Sustainability Panel – Temperature Rising: Confronting the climate emergency
– Ideation Lab – Trend Accelerator: Unpacking the latest global travel trends
– In Conversation – Rethinking Global Aviation: A look at İstanbul’s growing role as a global air hub
– Breakout Sessions: Focused on outbound markets, digital nomads, AI integration, and workforce development

A newly introduced feature, the “Ask the PATA Experts” initiative, allowed delegates to schedule one-on-one consultations with specialists in seven key areas, ranging from climate adaptation to workforce development. This initiative is part of the PATA Strategy 2030, aimed at enhancing member engagement and delivering greater value through targeted, expert-driven interactions.

Culture, Community, and Collaboration

In alignment with the Summit’s theme, the programme offered delegates hands-on cultural experiences, including simit baking, Turkish coffee brewing, and Ebru marbling- showcasing Türkiye’s deep-rooted traditions and intangible heritage.

Following the conference, attendees explored Türkiye further through curated post-event tours to Istanbul’s iconic landmarks—such as the Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, and Bosphorus Ferry—as well as trips to Antalya, İzmir, and Cappadocia.

During the closing ceremony, new partnerships and MoUs were also recognized, reflecting the collaborative spirit and shared vision that defined PAS 2025.

Giving Back: Kind Hearts Book Drive

As part of the PATA Kind Hearts Initiative, launched in 2024 to promote literacy and community impact in host destinations, delegates were invited to donate children’s books to the Rami Library in İstanbul. The initiative reflects PATA’s ongoing mission to give back, uplift youth, and foster education through tourism.

Committed to Sustainability

In line with PATA’s values, PAS 2025 was organised with sustainability in mind. The event’s carbon footprint was fully offset through contributions to the Kınık Wind Power Plant in Türkiye’s İzmir Province, supporting clean energy generation and reinforcing the Association’s environmental responsibility.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts 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, which include government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as youth members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism of the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 31 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 15 PATA Student Chapters globally. 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 an official office in Beijing. Visit www.PATA.org.

About the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency
Founded on July 15, 2019, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) is dedicated to delivering Türkiye as a brand and a popular destination in both domestic and international tourism markets; discover, develop and promote tangible and intangible natural, cultural, biological and manmade heritage assets; boost the tourism capacity of Türkiye, increase the rate of tourism investments in the national economy and raise the quality of service with short, medium and long term communication and marketing activities.

In line with tourism strategies and policies set by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Agency is carrying out all promotion, marketing and communication activities to serve Türkiye’s tourism goals, promote and market current tourism opportunities across the globe as well as discover, improve and establish potential areas of tourism.

About Turkish Airlines
Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines has a fleet of 462 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 349 worldwide destinations as 296 international and 53 domestics in 130 countries.

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