Words of wisdom from a legend
Posted: Thu 3 Mar, 2011 1:52 PM
PATA legend and founding member Matt Lurie has offered a unique insight into the early days of the Association, as well the direction PATA should be moving towards in the future.
This rare interview will be broadcast at the PATA 60th Anniversary and Conference, April 9-12, in Beijing, as part of a specially commissioned video commemorating the anniversary, and to be screened during the opening of the Conference. In it, Lurie recalled the early days of PATA and the desire of its founders to do something new , to build a body that would recognise tourism as a mechanism for economic growth, something that governments at the time had failed to understand.
He explained that PATA pioneered the way in which tourism was managed and promoted today; it provided a new way forward . A key element of this was the need for accurate research and intelligence. This may now be commonplace with tourism destinations around the world, but it all began with PATA.
Lurie said strategic intelligence was and should remain a core focus of PATA, particularly for smaller destinations that lack the resources to do it themselves. He stressed that not all destinations have the resources to promote and manage tourism development and investment, so PATA should offer assistance wherever possible, as well as encourage more affluent destinations to play their part.
To ensure this happens, volunteerism is key. It must be highly promoted and become a force for positive change. Lurie added PATA members needed to think outside the box and make changes that would have wide-reaching influence across the industry. This is what PATA did at its inception and what gave the founding members so much passion. He said this could, and should, happen again.
Finally, he stressed, the industry needed to be reminded of what PATA was and what it had achieved for the industry over the past 60-years.
