PATA unveils new executive board

Bottrill (middle in blue tie) is the new chairman of PATA’s executive board

Following its recent annual summit in Gangneung, South Korea, PATA has announced its new executive board, with Chris Bottrill, international director and dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Capilano University in North Vancouver as chair, replacing Sarah Mathews, TripAdvisor’s head of destination marketing Asia-Pacific.

Bottrill joined PATA in 2011 and has participated in a range of roles, including as chair of the Human Capital Development Committee and vice chair of the Sustainability and Social Responsibility Committee since 2014. He has also been a trustee of the PATA Foundation for the past three years.

The new executive board comprises Haji Azizan Noordin, CEO, Langkawi Development Authority; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director, Macao Government Tourism Office; Bill Calderwood, managing director, The Ayre Group Consulting; Jon Nathan Denight, president & CEO, Guam Visitors Bureau; Shahid Hamid, executive director, Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort; Luzi Matzig, chairman, Asian Trails; Benjamin Liao, chairman, Forte Hotel Group; Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board; Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah, general manager marketing, Malaysia Airports Holdings; and Gerald Perez, managing director, Leading Edge.

Haji Azizan Noordin was also elected as the new vice chairperson, while Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes was elected secretary/treasurer.

In addition, Peter Semone, president & founder – Destination Human Capital, Ireland and Soon-Hwa Wong, CEO – Asia Tourism Consulting, Singapore have been appointed to the executive board as non-voting members.

Abdulla Ghiyas, president – Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators and PATA Face of the Future 2018, also joins the PATA executive board as a non-voting member and observer for a one-year term.

-TTG Asia.