PATA at a crossroads after 75 years: leadership change, new risks and the test of sustainable tourism in Asia and the Pacific
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is entering the final part of the year in which it marks its 75th anniversary, faced with decisions that could determine its position in the tourism industry of the Asia-Pacific region for the next decade. PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, held from 18 to 20 August in Malaysia's Sarawak, showed how much the tourism industry has changed: alongside the growth in travel, geopolitical disruptions, more expensive energy, climate risks, technological transformation and pressure on local communities are coming to the forefront. At the same time, PATA must resolve its own leadership issue because the three-year term of CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid, which began on 1 October 2023, ends in October 2026. During the summer, the organisation opened a competition for the position of CEO, and applications closed on 20 August. The decision on whether PATA will continue with its existing leadership or choose a new person will therefore be one of the first major tests for Chair Henry Oh and the new Executive Board.
Travel Mart in Kuching showed a new phase of regional tourism
According to official PATA data, PATA Travel Mart 2026 brought together more than 1,100 delegates from 48 countries and destinations in Kuching. The business segment of the event included 221 buyers from 215 companies and 29 source markets, as well as more than 365 sellers representing more than 200 organisations and destinations. It was the first time that PATA's leading business tourism trade show was held in Sarawak, on the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo, which the organisation presented as part of efforts to spread international tourism demand beyond already established regional gateways. Noor Ahmad Hamid emphasised that bringing Travel Mart to smaller and emerging destinations can open international markets, disperse tourism spending and broaden economic benefits.
Such an approach reflects an important change in Asia-Pacific tourism. For years, the largest cities and island destinations attracted the greatest share of international arrivals, hotel investment and air capacity, while today an increasing number of secondary cities and lesser-known regions want a share of that growth. PATA therefore focused its Knowledge Forum in Kuching on the theme of partnerships and purposeful growth, emphasising that the next phase of development should not merely be a race for the largest possible number of travellers. For an organisation founded in 1951, this brings back the fundamental question: what kind of tourism does it want to encourage and what concrete value can it provide to members and destinations?
The selection of the CEO becomes a key decision of the autumn
The most immediate governance issue concerns the position of CEO. PATA announced on its careers page that it was seeking a CEO based in Bangkok, with the application deadline set for 20 August 2026. An official announcement from 2023 confirms that Noor Ahmad Hamid took office on 1 October of that year for a three-year term, meaning that his contract is approaching its end. By 29 August, PATA had not publicly announced the name of the future CEO or a final decision on extending the existing term.
Journalist and long-time regional tourism analyst Imtiaz Muqbil, whose reporting was carried by eTurboNews, states that a five-member committee was formed for the selection and that Noor Ahmad Hamid requested another term. According to the same report, the composition and chairmanship of that committee were not publicly presented to the membership, while a decision should be expected in October. PATA had not confirmed those details in publicly available statements by 29 August, so they should be regarded as a media report rather than an official decision by the organisation. Muqbil also states that some members of the governing bodies see an argument for continuity, while former PATA Chair Peter Semone believes that the organisation must adapt to a significantly more complex environment than it faced several years ago.
This is precisely why the selection of the CEO carries greater significance than an ordinary personnel change. PATA is simultaneously changing the generational structure of its governance and trying to offer members faster responses to market changes. If new leadership is selected, it will have to build a relationship very quickly with the Chair and the board, which are also relatively new. If Noor Ahmad Hamid receives another term, expectations will focus on how continuity will be transformed into faster decision-making, more visible advocacy for members' interests and more concrete support for destinations facing crises.
Henry Oh takes over PATA at a time of generational change
Henry Oh was elected Chair of PATA at the annual general meeting on 12 May 2026 in the Republic of Korea, after which the organisation also confirmed new leadership for the Executive Board. Ben Montgomery was appointed Vice Chair, while representatives of the private sector, destination organisations and institutions dealing with sustainable tourism joined the board. In May, PATA also ratified new members of the broader board from companies, academia and tourism organisations. Such a structure provides a broad range of expertise, but requires strong coordination.
In his analysis, Muqbil sees generational change as one of the key forces that will shape PATA. Younger executives bring digital experience, new business models and less baggage from old internal conflicts, but faster staff rotation in companies and public institutions can weaken institutional memory. This is particularly important for an organisation that has gone through major internal changes and the disruption caused by the pandemic. Oh, who comes from the private tourism sector and leads the Korean company Global Tour, stressed cooperation, partnerships and PATA's role as a leading platform for members at the start of his term. Those promises will now be measured by how quickly they can be turned into operational decisions.
Tourism is growing, but economic and geopolitical risks are becoming greater
PATA's forecasts show that demand for travel in Asia and the Pacific remains strong. In an update published at the end of June, the organisation, in cooperation with the research centre of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, estimated that the 39 destinations covered by the analysis could record 714.9 million international arrivals in 2026, 758.8 million in 2027 and 789.2 million in 2028. This would bring the total number of international arrivals by the end of the period to around 115.6 percent of the 2019 level. However, PATA warned as early as March that geopolitical uncertainty and macroeconomic instability could significantly alter the growth trajectory, and in a less favourable scenario it projected 599.7 million arrivals for 2028.
Broader economic indicators confirm why tourism organisations are more cautious than during the first wave of post-pandemic recovery. In the July edition of the Asian Development Outlook, the Asian Development Bank lowered its growth forecast for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific to 4.9 percent in 2026, while raising its inflation forecast to 4.3 percent. The ADB identifies disruptions in energy markets, geopolitical escalation, tighter financial conditions, trade uncertainty and pressure on food prices as key risks. For tourism, these risks can directly translate into the prices of aviation fuel, tickets, hotel operations and household travel, as well as airlines' decisions about routes and capacity.
PATA therefore can no longer build its relevance solely on trade shows and networking. Members need rapid data, scenarios, crisis assessments and coordination between the public and private sectors. During 2026, the organisation strengthened its research work and professional development programmes, but the speed of implementation will be decisive. In an environment in which changes in energy prices, security incidents, extreme weather events or airspace restrictions can develop within a few days, the traditional rhythm of boards and periodic meetings can easily become too slow.
Kuching wants growth without repeating the mistakes of established destinations
Sarawak is a good example of both the opportunity and the risk accompanying the new phase of tourism development. Official Sarawak government data show that around 4.97 million visitors and approximately 12.6 billion Malaysian ringgit in tourism receipts were recorded in 2025. A target of five million visitors was set for 2026, and around 1.24 million arrivals and 3.15 billion ringgit in tourism expenditure were recorded in the first quarter. At the same time, Sarawak Tourism Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah stressed at PATA Travel Mart that growth should not be a goal in itself and that tourism should benefit communities, culture and the environment.
Such a message is particularly important for destinations that are only now entering a phase of stronger international growth. The experiences of numerous well-known tourism centres in Asia have shown that uncontrolled increases in accommodation capacity can simultaneously increase pressure on traffic, water supply, waste management, housing and natural resources. When tourism infrastructure grows faster than municipal and transport infrastructure, pressure on residents increases, while the destination risks losing the characteristics that made it attractive. Kuching and the wider Sarawak region therefore have an opportunity to plan earlier, before pressures reach a level at which expensive restrictions or subsequent interventions are required.
In May, the Sarawak Tourism Board adopted a sustainable development policy committing it to align its events and tourism activities with local, state and global sustainability goals. The document explicitly mentions environmental protection, benefits for the community, the destination's long-term reputation and continuous improvement in event organisation. This shows that sustainability is being institutionally embedded in tourism policy, but the real test comes when these goals conflict with the interests of accelerated construction, more flights, new hotels and short-term revenue growth.
Haze during August showed how much the environment is part of the tourism product
The environmental issue became particularly visible immediately before and during PATA Travel Mart. Malaysian environmental authorities recorded a deterioration in air quality in parts of Sarawak in mid-August. According to information reported by Malaysia's National Disaster Management Agency, citing the Department of Environment, Kuching had an air pollution index of 132 on 16 August, which falls into the unhealthy air category, while Serian and Samarahan recorded even higher values. At the same time, ASEAN's regional monitoring system recorded a large number of fire hotspots in Kalimantan and Sumatra, with a smaller number in Malaysia.
By 27 August, conditions in Kuching itself had improved to an index of 95, or a moderate level, according to a daily review by Sarawak's Natural Resources and Environment Board, although some other locations in the state still had unhealthy readings. The episode is important for tourism because hazy air and smoke directly affect the destination experience, outdoor activities, visitors' health and the reputation of an area that builds much of its tourism offering around rainforests, biodiversity and nature. It also shows that tourism institutions alone cannot solve a problem with potentially transboundary causes, which requires cooperation among several government agencies.
For PATA, this is almost a symbolic example of a new type of challenge. The organisation can promote sustainability and responsible tourism, but its real influence will depend on its ability to help members connect tourism policy with energy, urban planning, climate adaptation, nature conservation and cross-border risk management. Otherwise, there is a danger that sustainability will remain a marketing message while problems that directly determine destination quality are addressed separately and too slowly.
PATA's next chapter will depend on speed, not only experience
At the end of its 75th anniversary, PATA finds itself in an unusual position: regional tourism is growing again, its membership has a large amount of experience and data at its disposal, and long-term demand for travel remains strong. At the same time, the number of risks that a tourism organisation can no longer view separately is increasing. Geopolitics affects energy and air routes, the economy affects spending, the climate affects safety and seasonality, while investment decisions affect the quality of life of local communities. For this reason, PATA's selection of a CEO will not merely be a decision about a person, but also about the type of leadership the organisation wants in a period when problems develop faster than the institutional cycles of the past.
Henry Oh and the new board will have to find a balance between institutional experience and generational renewal, between a network of contacts and operational speed, and between tourism growth and the limits imposed by the environment and infrastructure. Kuching served as a fitting stage in that sense: a destination with great development potential, a strong natural identity and a growing number of visitors simultaneously demonstrates how early the consequences of success need to be managed. If PATA succeeds in turning such challenges into concrete guidelines, data, partnerships and faster responses for its members, its 75th anniversary could mark the beginning of a new phase of influence. If it remains primarily a place for meetings and discussion, changes in the tourism sector may continue to advance faster than the organisation itself.
Sources:
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - official data on PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching and the number of participants (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - announcement on the election of Henry Oh and the new composition of the Executive Board (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - competition for the position of CEO and the application deadline in August 2026 (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - official 2023 announcement on the appointment of Noor Ahmad Hamid to a three-year term (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - forecasts of international tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific for the 2026-2028 period (link)
- eTurboNews / Imtiaz Muqbil - analysis of PATA's leadership issue, CEO selection and generational change (link)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association - March tourism forecast through 2028 and a less favourable scenario under the influence of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty (link)
- TTG Asia - report from PATA Travel Mart on Sarawak's policy giving priority to tourism value, communities and the environment, rather than only the number of arrivals (link)
- Asian Development Bank - July economic outlook for Asia and the Pacific, growth, inflation and key risks in 2026 (link)
- UKAS Sarawak - official data on tourist arrivals, revenues and the target of five million visitors in 2026 (link)
- Sarawak Tourism Board - sustainable development policy and commitments related to communities, the environment and the destination's long-term sustainability (link)
- Natural Resources and Environment Board Sarawak - official data on the air pollution index in Sarawak on 27 August 2026 (link)
- NADMA Malaysia - report based on Department of Environment data on unhealthy air quality in Kuching and Sarawak in mid-August 2026 (link)