The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announced that the PATA Adventure Travel Conference and Mart 2020 (ATCM 2020) will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah at the Sutera Harbour Resort from February 12-14. The announcement was made by Mr. Iskandar Mirza Mohd Yusof, Senior Director of Corporate Communication Division – Tourism Malaysia; Ms Noredah Othman, General Director – Sabah Tourism Board, and Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO – PATA during PATA Travel Mart 2019 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
The three-day event is generously hosted by Tourism Malaysia in partnership with Sabah Tourism Board and Malaysia Airlines. It will be the first time that ATCM is being hosted in Malaysia.
PATA Adventure Travel Conference and Mart (ATCM) is traditionally held in February and attracts more than 200 delegates from over 25 countries. This three-day niche event, with both conference and travel mart components, brings together tourism professionals involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism to discuss creating new opportunities for promoting environmental protection and social sustainability within the industry.
The one-day conference is designed to support PATA’s vision for the responsible development of tourism, while the one-day travel mart helps promote, build and strengthen business and networks for delegates.
Upon winning the bid to host the event, YB Datuk Mohamaddin bin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said, “Malaysia is proud and honoured to be given the opportunity to host this PATA event in Malaysia. It will be a golden opportunity for us to showcase Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, world-renowned for its nature and adventure attractions.”
“We look forward to welcoming our international guests to Malaysia for a fruitful meeting and explorations of the beauty and rugged landscapes of Sabah,” he added.
It is expected that the hosting of this event will bring greater media publicity to Malaysia as a destination for adventure travel, create awareness for Malaysia’s diverse eco-tourism and cultural product offerings, and brand Malaysia as a key player in sustainable tourism practices. It will be a boost to attracting tourists to Malaysia in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.
