Bhutan to host major tourism event in 2012

The third Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference will be held in Paro in February next year.

The theme for the event will be High Value Tourism – Low Impact Footprints. “We are honored to host the PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart in Bhutan for the first time,” said Kesang Wangdi, director general of the Tourism Council of Bhutan.

“I am confident that such an international conference will help broaden the understanding of tourism and stress its positive impact on society.”

At the event, international, regional and local speakers will share experiences and provide insight into existing and future travel trends in adventure tourism.

During the event, a buyer-seller oriented mart will help target limited number of relevant high quality buyers primarily from Japan, Taipei, Western Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and the Asian cities of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“We welcome all PATA conference delegates to visit Bhutan, where happiness is the ultimate development goal complemented by a strong commitment to environmental and cultural preservation,” said Karma Lotey, the chaireperson of the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators.

“We look forward to fruitful interactions that will create meaningful business association, friendship and a lot of happy memories,” he said.

The event will also feature a series of pre-conference webinars, activities and interactions with speakers and participants.