PATA to Support the Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference 2015

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to be a supporting partner of the second Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference (PAITC), The event, organised by the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance(WINTA) and Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia (AtBC), will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia from September 12 -14, 2015.

PATA CEO Mario Hardy said, “PATA is proud to support our partners such as WINTA in organising this event. Indigenous tourism is a subject that deserves more focus and attention, and this event is the perfect opportunity to discuss this topic. Our commitment to this issue is supported by the Association’s forthcoming report which focuses on indigenous tourism and human rights as inspired by the Larrakia Declaration.”

The inaugural PAITC was held in Darwin, Australia in 2012 and was responsible for publicising the Larrakia Declaration, a tourism industry response to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Larrakia Declaration was endorsed by PATA and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

“We are naturally excited that Indigenous tourism will be delivering the PAITC 2015 and with the close support of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and other tourism industry partners,” said WINTA Chairman Ben Sherman.“The delivery of the conference in Vancouver is a welcomed opportunity to provide international focus on Aboriginal tourism in Canada,” added AtBC Chairperson Brenda Baptiste.

PAITC 2015 will focus on the positive implementation of the principles of Indigenous rights set forth in the Larrakia Declaration, and is expected to bring together an impressive line-up of Indigenous, State, tourism industry and civil service leaders with an interest in Indigenous tourism.