PHNOM PENH, September 23, 2014 --  Over 200 young professionals, students and lecturers participated in a dynamic discussion at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Youth Symposium on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). Under the theme “What Do You Want to Share with the World? Tourism and Cultural Integrity for Cambodia”, the Symposium commenced prior to the 2014 PATA Travel Mart

 
The programme was developed with guidance from Dr Chris Bottrill, Chairman of the PATA Education and Training Committee and Dean, Faculty of Global and Community Studies, Capilano University. Dr Bottrill noted that the PATA Youth Symposium aims to provide a strong career foundation for students who wish to enhance their value-adding networking opportunities with travel professionals.

 
The Symposium opened with welcome statements by Dr Neth Baromey, Head of Department of Tourism, and Dr Oum Ravy, Vice Rector, RUPP, who both thanked the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia and PATA for their collaboration in organising the PATA Youth Symposium at RUPP. They both added that the Symposium was a great platform for students to exchange ideas and network with experienced industry professionals who provided valuable insights for the next generation.

 
Ms Kong Roatlomang, Deputy General Director, Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia said, “It is my pleasure to welcomes international industry professionals to Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonder. We need to work together to empower the younger generation to build great foundation for their future career." 

 
“PATA Youth Symposium is one of the essential activities that PATA created in the area of Human Capital Development. We are pleased to serve as the linkage between industry professionals and academic.” added Mr Marin J Craigs, PATA CEO.

 
Ms Ivy Chee, PATA Regional Director – East Asia, delivered a Plenary Talk on the topic “The Rise of the Young Asian Travellers and Supporting the Next Generation of Tourism Leaders.” She also discussed the importance of the next generation of young Asian travellers and how marketers needed to think more creatively to promote tourism to them. As she highlighted, young Asian travellers tend to stay longer and spend more money. In addition, they want to learn and contribute more to the local communities.

 
Mr Randy Durband, CEO, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) talked about “Connecting Cambodia with the Globe – Airlines and Inbounds – Their Role in Cultural Integrity and Protecting the Future”. 

 
Mr Chris Carnovale, Instructor, Capilano University shared his experience in operating the PATA Grand Award 2014 Winning Project “Vietnam Ethnic Hill Tribe Community Tourism Partnership" project. Through the project, Capilano University faculty and students travel to Sapa and Hanoi in Vietnam to work in partnership with Hanoi Open University (HOU) in delivering skills-based training in areas of homestay development, business development, product development, tourism planning, and cultural preservation. The project aims to build the tourism capacity of the village and foster tourism networks through connections between the village and private sector tourism organisations.

All participants interactively shared their views in roundtable discussions on the following topics: What do you love about Cambodia? What are the most important things to conserve? What are the biggest challenges for Cambodia? And what can you do about these Challenges?

 
In recent years, the PATA Education and Training Committee has organised successful educational events at various institutions including UCSI University Sarawak Campus (April 2010), Institute for Tourism Studies (September 2010), Beijing International Studies University(April 2011) and Taylor's University, Kuala Lumpur (April 2012), Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila (September 2012), Thammasat University, Bangkok (April 2013), Chengdu Polytechnic, Huayuan Campus, China (September 2013) and Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai Campus, China, (May 2014).

 
For further information, please visit the PATA website and click to view the video of the previous PATA Youth Forum.

View photos from the Youth Symposium at the PATA Flickr page.

About PATA

Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 43 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA's membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members' desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA's Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney, Dubai, London and New York. Visit www.PATA.org.

About Royal University of Phnom Penh 

The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) is Cambodia's oldest and one of the largest public universities. It hosts more than 12,000 scholarship and full-fee paying students, across a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. It is unique in Cambodia for offering specialist degrees in fields including the sciences, humanities and social sciences, as well as professional degrees in fields such as information technology, electronics, psychology, social work, and tourism. RUPP also provides Cambodia's foremost degree-level language programs through the Institute of Foreign Languages. Due to its many achievements, RUPP has full membership of the ASEAN University Network (AUN).

RUPP has over 450 full-time staff. All of its 335 academic staff members hold tertiary qualifications, including 15 PhDs and 280 Masters degrees. They are supported by over 120 administrative and maintenance staff. In addition, the university maintains links with Cambodian and international NGOs, local and international universities and government ministries. As a result, various international and non-government organizations and government offices regularly contribute adjunct faculty members to help expand RUPP's capacity.

RUPP is located on three spacious campuses. The main campus lies roughly five kilometers from the center of Phnom Penh. Adjoining the main campus is the Institute of Foreign Languages, which boasts peaceful landscaping features alongside its modern architecture. Roughly one kilometer further from town lies RUPP Campus II, in which the departments of History, Sociology and Philosophy reside. www.rupp.edu.kh/

Media Contact:

PATA
Paul Pruangkarn
Manager - Communications                                                                                               

Bangkok, Thailand                                           

Tel: +66 2 658 2000                                                                    

E-mail: Communications@PATA.org     
Online newsroom: www.PATA.org/Press