Henry Oh elected new PATA president at a time of major changes in global tourism
South Korean tourism entrepreneur Henry Oh has been elected the new president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, better known by the acronym PATA, during the annual general meeting held as part of the PATA Annual Summit 2026 in Gyeongju. His election comes in a year in which PATA marks 75 years of activity and in a period in which the Asia-Pacific tourism sector is simultaneously recovering, adapting to new technologies and facing geopolitical and economic uncertainties. According to PATA’s programme and announcements, the summit is being held from 11 to 13 May 2026 in the South Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-do, in the cities of Pohang and Gyeongju, under the theme Navigating Towards a Resilient Future. The organisers thereby placed the emphasis on destination resilience, the adaptation of business models and cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Oh is a long-standing name in the Korean and Asia-Pacific tourism industry. According to the profile published by PATA, he is the president of Global Tour Ltd., which the organisation describes as the first private travel agency in Korea, founded in 1960. The same profile states that Global Tour developed services for the Korean outbound market, inbound guests from abroad, congress management and sports travel. The election of Henry Oh is therefore not only a personnel change at the head of a regional tourism organisation, but also a symbolic continuation of a business tradition that reaches back to the period after the Korean War, when South Korea was gradually opening up to international travel and tourism exchange.
The election in Gyeongju connected heritage and future challenges
PATA’s annual general meeting was held in Gyeongju, a city that holds a special place in Korean tourism because of its cultural heritage, archaeological sites and historical role as the former capital of the Silla kingdom. UNESCO states that the historic areas of Gyeongju include an exceptional concentration of Korean Buddhist art, pagodas, reliefs, palace remains and temples from the period between the 7th and 10th centuries. Such a choice of location fits into the broader message of the summit: tourism in Asia and the Pacific is no longer viewed only through arrival numbers and spending, but also through heritage management, the balance between local communities and visitors, and the long-term sustainability of destinations.
According to the official summit website, the PATA Annual Summit 2026 is jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the cities of Gyeongju and Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Organization. PATA announced that the event consists of meetings, a conference programme and a destination experience in both cities. This also highlighted the role of regional destinations in South Korea, which are seeking to position themselves beyond the best-known urban centres. For participants attending professional gatherings and tourism events in that region, accommodation offers in Gyeongju and the surrounding area may also be useful, especially because of the programme schedule between the two cities.
The election of the new president took place at a time when PATA is seeking to maintain relevance among government tourism offices, airlines, hotel groups, technology companies, academic institutions and travel agencies. According to the organisation’s own description, PATA is a non-profit membership association dedicated to the development of a “meaningful Pacific-Asia tourism economy”, and since 1951 it has acted as a voice and platform for cooperation in travel and tourism in the region. It is precisely this diversity of membership that imposes on the new leadership the requirement to align the interests of destinations, private companies and travellers, but also to respond to issues that have become central to the entire sector in recent years: climate obligations, digitalisation, labour shortages, changes in consumer habits and security risks.
A family tourism tradition since 1960
Henry Oh assumes the presidency with a biography strongly tied to the development of the Korean tourism market. In his profile, PATA states that Global Tour was founded in 1960 and that it is the first private travel agency in Korea. That period was extremely important for shaping the post-war Korean economy, and tourism gradually developed from a limited and infrastructure-intensive activity into one of the channels of international exchange. In that context, the family and business heritage of Global Tour gains additional weight because it shows how early private actors in tourism created networks that later became part of a much broader regional industry.
According to PATA data, Oh has been president of Global Tour since 2015, and he has also held positions connected with Korean tourism associations and international tourism networks. The organisation also lists him as president of the Korea Association of Travel Agents, or KATA, which further confirms his connection with travel agencies and the intermediary part of the market. Global Tour, according to the same source, has also dealt with sports travel and services for Korean Olympic and sports organisations. That experience may be important for PATA because the market for business, sports and congress travel is being reshaped after the pandemic disruption, with a greater role for security protocols, flexible reservations and digital travel management.
His election also shows that in the new period PATA is seeking leadership familiar with both traditional travel agencies and the new pressures of the digital market. The agency sector in Asia and the Pacific has had to adapt its operations in recent years to online sales, changes in air traffic, higher costs and increasingly demanding travellers. At the same time, travel agencies still have a strong role in complex itineraries, business travel, group arrangements, sports events and markets where personal advice remains important. PATA’s new president comes precisely from that segment of the industry, which may influence the tone of discussions about the relationship between technology and human expertise in tourism.
Tourism is growing, but the risks have not disappeared
The context in which Oh assumes leadership is significantly different from the period of immediate recovery after the pandemic. According to UN Tourism data, international tourism continued to grow in 2025, and expectations for 2026 indicate further growth of three to four percent compared with 2025, provided that the recovery of Asia and the Pacific continues, that global economic conditions remain favourable, that inflation in tourism services declines and that geopolitical conflicts do not expand. This formulation by UN Tourism is important because it shows that optimistic forecasts are based on a series of assumptions, not on secure and linear growth.
According to the same data, demand in 2025 was supported by strong travel demand, large outbound markets, the recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific, better air connectivity and the easing of visa regimes. But tourism remains sensitive to energy prices, currency changes, political tensions, disruptions in air traffic and changes in consumer confidence. For PATA, whose members encompass different economies and destinations, this means that a single strategy cannot be enough. Island destinations, major urban centres, rural areas and countries that depend on long-haul flights face different risks, but all must plan for resilience.
The World Travel & Tourism Council, WTTC, emphasises in its economic research that travel and tourism are one of the key global economic sectors and that they are monitored through their contribution to GDP, employment and international spending. The latest projections reported by tourism business media state that the global travel and tourism sector in 2026 could reach around 12 trillion US dollars in contribution to the world economy and support hundreds of millions of jobs. Such data confirm the economic importance of the sector, but at the same time increase the pressure on tourism organisations to align growth with infrastructure, climate goals and the quality of life of local residents.
Artificial intelligence and sustainability as a test for the new leadership
Among the challenges that will mark Oh’s term, artificial intelligence stands out in particular. PATA’s summit programme for 2026 includes topics of resilience, risk, economic trends, changes in consumer behaviour and technological shifts. In tourism, artificial intelligence is increasingly used for trip planning, automated customer support, dynamic pricing, personalised recommendations, processing large datasets and managing operational processes. But the same technology raises questions of transparency, data protection, the dependence of small entrepreneurs on platforms and the possible reduction in the need for certain types of jobs.
For PATA this is especially important because its members do not start from the same technological level. Large hotel chains, airlines and online platforms have significantly greater resources than small agencies, local guides and family accommodation facilities. The new leadership will therefore have to seek a balance between encouraging innovation and preserving the inclusiveness of the tourism value chain. If artificial intelligence is used only to increase sales and automation, smaller actors may remain on the margins of the market. If, however, it is included in education, better management of visitor flows, demand forecasting and reducing the pressure on destinations, it can become a tool for more responsible tourism.
Sustainability is the second major test. PATA announced that in 2024 it achieved full carbon neutrality for its activities, including events, operations and capacity-building programmes, through emissions offsetting and related projects. The organisation also cites guidelines for carbon-neutral events, aligned with the climate obligations of the tourism sector. But emissions offsetting alone is not sufficient to address the pressures that tourism creates on the environment and communities. The new president will be expected to ensure that sustainability does not remain only a topic of conference panels, but is connected with impact measurement, member education and practical recommendations for destinations.
Why the election of a Korean representative matters for the region
South Korea has become increasingly visible in recent years as a tourism and cultural destination, but also as a source of travellers for other Asian and Pacific markets. The election of Henry Oh in the summit’s host country further emphasises Korea’s role in regional tourism networks. PATA had earlier announced that Gyeongju and Pohang would jointly host the annual summit for the first time, seeking to connect the cultural heritage of Gyeongju with the industrial and coastal identity of Pohang. Such a hosting model shows how tourism events are increasingly used to present multiple destination profiles within the same region.
Gyeongju, in this regard, brings strong cultural capital. The UNESCO status of its historic areas gives it international recognition, while Korea’s official tourism websites highlight its role in preserving the heritage of the Silla kingdom. Pohang, on the other hand, participates in the summit programme as an industrial and coastal centre, opening space for discussion on connecting business, cultural and regional tourism. For PATA participants, such a combination is not only the scenery of a conference, but an example of how destinations can develop products that do not rely exclusively on mass visits to a single attraction.
In a broader sense, Oh’s election comes at a time when Asia and the Pacific are once again asserting themselves as one of the world’s most dynamic tourism areas. UN Tourism states that the recovery of destinations in that region was one of the factors of global growth in 2025. At the same time, the region is exposed to pronounced differences in levels of development, air accessibility, climate vulnerability and political relations. PATA’s president therefore leads not only a professional association, but a platform in which the interests of island states, major economies, mature destinations and markets that are only beginning to develop international tourism visibility come together.
PATA faces the task of remaining a relevant industry platform
In previous decades, PATA built the role of an organisation that connects the public and private sectors, publishes research, organises professional events and promotes the responsible development of tourism in Asia and the Pacific. According to the association’s official description, it is a non-profit membership organisation that has acted as an important voice of the tourism industry in the region since 1951. But the modern environment requires more than conference networking. Members expect concrete data, risk scenarios, adaptation tools and clearer guidelines for doing business in conditions of frequent disruptions.
The new leadership will therefore have to address the question of how PATA can help destinations simultaneously increase revenue, reduce seasonal and spatial pressures, involve local communities and protect cultural and natural heritage. This is especially important in Asia and the Pacific, where both the world’s most visited urban destinations and small island economies that are extremely vulnerable to climate change are located. In such an environment, unmanaged tourism growth can quickly become a problem, while well-planned growth can support employment, infrastructure renewal and the preservation of destination identity.
Henry Oh takes over PATA with a legacy deeply connected to the development of Korea’s private tourism sector, but also with the obligation to lead the organisation through a period of technological and economic transformation. His term will be viewed through his ability to connect the experience of traditional tourism actors with new travel models, to respond to the challenges of artificial intelligence and to turn sustainability into measurable decisions. In Gyeongju, therefore, more than a new head of the association was elected: a direction was confirmed in which PATA will try to maintain the role of a relevant regional platform in a decade in which tourism is growing again, but no longer has the right to ignore its own limits.
Sources:
- Pacific Asia Travel Association – official page of the PATA Annual Summit 2026, information on hosts, dates, programme and theme of the summit (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association – announcement of the summit programme and speakers, including topics of resilience, risk and the future of tourism (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association – profile of Henry Oh, information on Global Tour Ltd., KATA and his positions in the tourism sector (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association – description of the organisation, mission and role of PATA in tourism in Asia and the Pacific (link)
- UN Tourism – World Tourism Barometer and data on the growth of international tourism and outlook for 2026 (link)
- World Travel & Tourism Council – research on the economic impact of travel and tourism (link)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre – information on the historic areas of Gyeongju and their cultural value (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association – announcement on the carbon neutrality of PATA activities in 2024 (link)
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