Peter Semone, Chair of PATA, advocates for a paradigm shift towards meaningful tourism during the 2025 PATA Annual Summit, calling for community-centered, value-driven tourism strategies.
Meaningful tourism took center stage as Peter Semone, Chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), delivered a forward-looking address at the PATA Annual Summit 2025, currently underway in Istanbul, Türkiye. Framed by the theme “Timeless Wisdom for a Sustainable Future,” Semone’s keynote and press conference remarks reflected a transformative moment for the association and the broader Asia-Pacific tourism sector.
With more than 260 delegates from 35 destinations in attendance, the summit united government ministers, tourism leaders, academics, and media from across the globe. Hosted with the support of Türkiye’s Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) and Turkish Airlines, the event was marked by cultural exchange and strategic dialogue, emphasising the future of tourism beyond recovery.
In his keynote, Semone challenged traditional tourism metrics—visitor arrivals, length of stay, and per diem spend—describing them as relics of a 1970s-era mindset. He emphasised the need for new performance indicators that assess tourism’s meaningfulness, including its impact on local communities, cultural preservation, and environmental integrity.
“Let livability be our compass,” Semone urged. “We must build destinations where residents thrive and visitors find authentic, enriching experiences.”
The newly ratified PATA vision—to realise a meaningful Pacific Asia tourism economy—moves beyond aspirational language. It is a strategic pivot grounded in actionable goals. PATA’s updated mission commits the organisation to “share knowledge, enable networking and protect tourism economy assets by fostering innovation, collaboration, and adaptability.”
Key initiatives announced include:
- The PATA Index: A data-driven benchmarking tool aimed at evaluating the full value of tourism, beyond raw statistics.
- Ask a PATA Experts Program: One-on-one expert consultations on sustainability and workforce development during the summit.
- New Research Report: The Evolving Tourism Workforce: Human Capital Development in APAC, scheduled for launch during the summit, offers timely insights into labour force trends and skills gaps.
Semone’s address also contextualised the importance of solidarity and cooperation amidst a turbulent global landscape marked by climate change, geopolitical instability, and technological disruption. He cautioned that tourism’s image is at risk as overtourism, cultural erosion, and local disenfranchisement reshape public perception.
“Tourism, once venerated as a development engine, is now often viewed as a problem,” he warned. “To reclaim its potential, we must rethink our purpose.”
Yet, the PATA Chair expressed optimism, pointing to Asia Pacific’s resilience, cultural richness, and collaborative spirit as strategic assets. He positioned the region as a global leader poised to model a more ethical and equitable tourism framework.
During the press conference, Semone elaborated on future plans, including PATA’s 75th anniversary summit in Gyeongsangbuk-do province, in Gyeongju and Pohang cities, South Korea, in 2026. This dual-location event will mark a return to a region last visited by PATA in 1979. The Diamond Jubilee will be an opportunity to both reflect on the association’s legacy and galvanise support for its future direction, rooted in meaningful tourism as a guiding principle.
On meaningful collaboration, Semone emphasised that PATA will work closely with its local chapters to refine the definition of meaningful tourism and to promote it across both source and supply markets. “This is not about mandates,” he clarified, “but about shared understanding and collective action.”
Semone also highlighted that the summit’s sustainability goals were not rhetorical. PATA took tangible steps to offset the event’s carbon footprint through projects such as the Kınık Wind Power Plant in İzmir, reinforcing its role as a climate-conscious industry leader.
Reflecting on cultural highlights—including Turkish coffee workshops, Ebru marbling, and a heartfelt book donation to the Rami Library—Semone reminded delegates that tourism is fundamentally about human stories and shared understanding.
“We’re not just managing an association,” he concluded. “We’re nurturing a movement—a community of partners who believe tourism, when done right, is one of the world’s greatest forces for good.”
As PATA moves toward its next chapter, the emphasis on meaningful tourism signals a paradigm shift. It is not only a new strategy, but a declaration of purpose—one that challenges the industry to be more reflective, inclusive, and future-focused.