International Program in Service Innovation

The College of Innovation was honored to host the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Youth Forum at Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campus in Bangkok.  The forum provided participants with a broad overview of the current state of the tourism industry, visitor economy concepts and insights from tourism top industry experts.  There were a number of knowledgeable speakers and we were privileged to have heard from the Rector of Thammasat University, Prof Dr Somkit Lertpaithoon, Director of MSI Program, Prof. Dr. Walter Jamieson, and PATA CEO Martin J. Craigs in the opening ceremony.

The event was highly successful and the team from CITU worked very effectively together with the PATA staff to execute an event with over 120 participants, from 14 different countries.  CITU has committed to continue to work with PATA to explore the trends and future of the travel and tourism industry and in particular on the visitor economy key dimension of the college’s approach to understanding service from an integrated an ecosystem approach.

From left to right: Prof. Dr. Walter Jamieson, Chairman of PATA Mr. Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, Rector Prof Dr Somkit Lertpaithoon, Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kovit Charnvitayapong, PATA CEO Martin Craigs

For full information on the presentations please consult the PATA website at http://www.pata.org/news/pata-youth-forum-2013

Presentations and speakers included:

Experience – Making Events Happen, Asst Prof Dr Glenn McCartney, Hospitality and Gaming Management, University of Macau and

Search and Connect (Interactive Session) where interesting insights and forecasts were provided by international experts including Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, Thailand, Ariya Banomyong, Country Manager, Google Thailand, Denise Peng Xiaomei, Executive Vice President, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, China and James Maber, PATA Face of the Future 2013,     Senior Director of Development, Marco Polo Hotels

“Experience: Same, Same – But Different” – Developing Innovative Experiences by Prof. Sr. J S Perry Hobson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, Taylor’s University, Malaysia

The Future of Tourism: Industry Perspectives from Thailand (Interactive) where experts shared their perspectives on modern challenges and opportunities losing

Next Generation Speakers from acclaimed private sector hospitality companies in Thailand share their take on modern challenges and opportunities including: Mr. Dale Lawrence, Arrut Navaraj, Managing Director, Sampran Riverside, Thailand, Siradej Donavanik, Manager – Operations & Profit Improvement, Dusit International, Thailand and Ms Chittimas Ketvoravit, Managing Director, Universal Hospitality, Thailand

Looking Ahead: The Big Picture by Mr. Peter Jordan, International Relations Officer, WYSE Travel Confederation, The Netherlands