Craiges explained that the mission of the PATA China Chapter was to “educate the industry on changing trends, assist in business growth for international and domestic organizations doing business and focusing on the mainland as a market, network with industry peers to further collaboration between Chinese and expat members of the Chinese travel and tourism industry, and build a community of tourism professionals in mainland China”.

He said:”PATA is keen to support the mainland at the national, municipality and provincial levels in terms of tourism development and the exchange of best practice information.”

Since the establishment of the PATA China Office in 2007, mainland China membership has grown, along with PATA’s scope of cooperation with its members. Several signature events have been held, including the UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook (now a permanent event in Guilin), PATA Travel Mart 2009 and 2010 in Hangzhou and Macau respectively, and the PATA 60th Anniversary and Conference in Beijing in April.

He added:”PATA China Office has been providing assistance and support to member organizations, with numerous tourism development projects covering planning marketing, branding, product development and crisis management, with a particular focus on destinations such as Shanghai, Dalian, Hangzhou and Chengdu.”