Macau won bid to host PATA meetings in 2009<br> MGTO awarded plaque for 50 years of PATA membership

Macau Government Tourist Office Director João Manuel Costa Antunes and Deputy Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes attended the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Board of Directors meeting from April 5 to 7 at Colombo, Sri Lanka. MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes received a certificate and plaque of recognition for 50 Years of PATA Membership on behalf of MGTO at an award ceremony held during the Welcome Dinner on April 5. Macau has successfully won the bid for hosting the PATA Board of Directors Meeting and Annual General Meeting which will be held April 2009. MGTO was one of the organizations that submitted bid at the PATA Board of Directors Meeting on April 7, where Director of MGTO made a presentation on preparation work for the event. The members of the Board of Directors voted for Macau as the city to host the event. MGTO also hosted a lunch on April 7 for all the delegates of the meeting at Colombo and introduced the latest tourism development of Macau to the guests. The meeting featured a session that addressed global climate change, a topic which will be discussed at higher levels by travel and tourism stakeholders at the “PATA CEO Challenge 2008” to be held in Bangkok, Thailand at the end of April. Prof Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chair of the Noble Peace Prize-winning Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change and representative of British Airport Authority were among the distinguished speakers at the session. In conjunction with the Board meeting, a seminar on "Human Capital Challenge - It's Time to Invest" was held on 7 April, where experts discussed the issue of human resources and talent management in the Asia Pacific region. Besides being Board member, Director of MGTO is member of the Membership Advisory Committee of PATA, while Deputy Director is outgoing Chairperson of the Strategic Intelligence Advisory Committee. The next PATA Board meeting will be held in conjuntion with the PATA Travel Mart in India in September 2008.