PATA will be hiring a regional director Asia, and a director marketing membership. The hires for the newly-created positions will have their jobs cut out for them, as the Bangkok-based organisation seeks to grow revenue by 13 per cent this year, increase the number of chapters from 38 to 50 by 2012, re-engage members and communicate its new value.
The move is one of many tasks confronting PATA, which has not even found a CEO, but has unveiled a broad-based Future Strategic Focus designed to make its brand mean something again.
PATA’s interim CEO, Bill Calderwood, in an interview with TTG Asia e-Daily, said he would be working with the PATA team and board to come up with an 18-month business plan based on the new strategic focus.
He said he would count his six-month interim PATA stint ending in September a success if he had re-stabilised the team and established a clear culture in the organisation – “one that focuses on delivering things which build business”; created a structure that connects PATA with members’ chapters; rebuilt the brand; and created a sustainable programme and financial structure for PATA.
When asked what he needed to make progress with PATA, Calderwood said the challenges were not insurmountable. He called on members to stop dwelling on the past and get on with the task at hand.
“The challenges of an industry association is not unique to PATA. Every association has to keep working out where its potential is to add value,” he said.
“There have been a lot of discussions about PATA in recent years, all sorts of concerns and criticisms, some of them valid. But there has always been the recognition that PATA provided great value in the past and can continue to deliver value, with a clear vision and plan of action.”
He added that membership could be expected to be “tapped to work” again, as “the management team needs support, not just in words, but in deeds”.
The spirit of volunteerism was a strong pillar of PATA.
PATA’s Future Strategic Focus looked at changes in the operating environment, such as the digital revolution, rise of regional tourism NTOs and increasing need for effective advocacy, and addressed how PATA needed to retool its role and value.
– Full report in TTG Asia, April 29 issue
