PATA inks MoUs with Sarawak Tourism Board, EATOF

 

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has signed new partnerships with Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) – to build closer cooperation and jointly promote sustainable tourism and resilience efforts in Sarawak – as well as with East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Federation (EATOF) to establish an alliance for the activation of tourism in Asia-Pacific.

Both Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed during the PATA Annual Summit 2024 (PAS 2024) on May 16 in Macao, China.

To ensure the success of sustainable tourism initiatives in Sarawak, PATA and STB will work together to enhance tourism resilience and sustainable tourism practices, introduce carbon offset projects in Sarawak, engage in joint advocacy and policy development activities, jointly organise events, and collaborate on green hospitality, urban sustainability and biodiversity conservation initiatives.

The first activity outlined in the MoU between STB and PATA is the Tourism Destination Resilience (TDR) capacity building programme, which took place in Kuching on May 20 and 21. Tourism officials received training on core modules of the TDR Programme, which covered topics such as risk assessment and management, crisis communication, adaptive capacity improvement, and diversification strategies, among others.

Following this, on May 23 and 24, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector will join a workshop on financial and digital skills, aiming to empower them with greater financial literacy and leverage digitalisation to enhance competitiveness.

Following the TDR Programme, PATA and STB will engage in further activities including a new series of workshops focused on ecotourism and community-based tourism development, waste management and reduction, and the implementation of sustainability certifications and carbon neutrality activities.

EATOF, an international tourism association that strives to develop a tourism community across the East Asia region and provide a solid forum to come together in unity, will join forces with PATA to boost local tourism through various businesses, including mutual collaboration in tourism, youth engagement, big data analysis, and more.

The MoU outlines the target of fostering mutual participation in significant events hosted by each association (namely the EATOF General Assembly and the PATA Annual Summit), sharing exemplary sustainable practices, and facilitating collaborative initiatives spanning from educational endeavours to regional tourism programmes.

Formed in 2000, EATOF currently has 10 member provinces in 10 countries participating, with the EATOF Secretariat located in Gangwon State, South Korea.

-TTG Asia.