Tag Archives: Mario Hardy

PATA Travel Mart (PTM) 2018, being held at Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Malaysia, has opened to more than 1400 delegates. Addressing them, Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, PATA, said, “PATA Travel Mart continues to stand tall in the Asia Pacific as the most value-adding network. The event’s continued success is due to its ability to strike the right balance between quality and quantity when it comes to buyer and seller appointments. So far, PTM has welcomed a total of 389 sellers from 208 organisations and 33 destinations. On the buyer side, we have a total of 252 buyers from 241 organisations and 53 source markets. Overall, there are more than 1400 delegates who have joined us this week.” Speaking at the occasion, YB Tuan Mohamaddin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia, said, “As the host country of PTM, it is an opportunity for us to promote Malaysia as the ideal leisure and business destination. A key area we are constantly working on is visa facilitation. Improved visa facilities in India and China are making it convenient for more travellers to visit Malaysia. In fact, we are seeing double-digit growth from these two markets due to the positive steps taken to facilitate their travel here, and we hope that this can be expanded to other markets.” PTM 2018 is Asia Pacific’s worldwide travel trade exhibition featuring unparalleled networking and contracting opportunities to help travel trade and tourism organisations access decision makers, meet new clients, expand their network, establish new relationships, and consolidate existing business partnerships.

One of the major topics discussed at PATA India Chapter’s Tourism Powerhouse 2018 was ‘Enabling growth through disruptive tourism’. The session saw in attendance some of the stalwarts from Indian and international travel and technology sector. Moderating the session was Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA while the panelists included Jen Oreel, Founding CEO, Octotrip; Matthew Powell, Managing Director—MESA, Travelport; Sanjay Kumar, Former CCO, IndiGo and Paras Loomba, Founder, Global Himalayan Expedition. The panel discussed how the industry needs to cope up with different disrupting forces including start-ups, technology, etc by sharing real -time examples.  

The second day of Tourism PowerHouse opened with a panel discussion on ‘Digital Marketing- Today’s Firepower’. Moderated by Jose Leon, President, Indigo Consulting, the session’s panelists included Nikhil Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder, TACT, Balaji Viswanath, Vice President—Digital Acquisition and Capabilities, American Express and Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. The panelists discussed how content is the key factor to create unique stories for travellers across all mediums and how they are leveraging digital technology. They claimed that making unique stories for every state in India is crucial instead of every state promoting everything to travellers.

Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, presented the summary remarks at Tourism PowerHouse 2018— a PATA India initiative, held recently in New Delhi. Addressing the attendees at The Park, New Delhi, Hardy said, “We live in an uncertain and a very complex world. Things are changing at a phenomenal speed. We need to prepare ourselves for the disruptions in future. At Tourism Powerhouse, we have talked about the importance of local experiences and authenticity. The wealthiest of travellers are also looking for experiences and so are the millennials. Creating these unique experiences is a challenge that the travel industry is facing to remain in the business and to remain in the interest of these future travellers. Today, it is required to create memorable experiences that people want to share on social media as well as with friends and relatives, as they are the most trusted source of information on travel.” Insisting that the focus on experiences would be key to the growth that India needs to see in tourism, he said that the Tourism Powerhouse is a great initiative by PATA India Chapter and he hopes that it becomes a regular event.

Highlighting areas where the Ministry of Tourism will spend more on promotional activities, Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Tourism and Chairman, PATA India Chapter, spoke of the Ministry’s three-pronged strategy at PATA India’s first-ever Tourism PowerHouse held at The Park, New Delhi. “We have a three-pronged strategy for increasing inflow to the country. First, we have G2G interactions; 16 MOUs have been signed in this regard. The second is promoting through B2B interactions, where we have employed a number of methods. We have been participating in all major world tourism marts that give us an excellent opportunity. Apart from that, we have roadshows in which we lead a delegation of the industry and give a platform to them for further networking. This year, we’re taking things a step forward and organising India Travel Mart in September, which is likely to get 250 buyers from around the world. The third part of the strategy is more B2C interactions. How we reach out to consumers is the third aspect of our strategy,” she elaborated.