3 Sep, 2024

PATA breaks new ground with media briefing at Foreign Press club

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The PATA Travel Mart 2024 broke new ground on Aug 27 by holding the opening media briefing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. It was the first time since PATA’s move to Bangkok in 1998 that both the Chairman and CEO of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading Travel & Tourism association had turned up at Southeast Asia’s leading foreign press club.

I initiated the idea. Thanks to PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid for agreeing to it, and to PATA Chairman Peter Semone for clearing it. And a special thanks to the Sanya Tourist Board for its support.

The FCCT’s membership includes the world’s top media, including the BBC (a PATA Premier Partner), CNN, the New York Times, Singapore Straits Times, Nikkei Asian Review, Bernama, and many more quality media from Japan, China, Russia, Australia and Europe. I repeat: Quality Media. They cover Travel & Tourism from a different angle than the travel trade media.

Why PATA never before organised a media briefing at the FCCT, in spite of being located (until recently) just one Skytrain station away, is worth thinking about. Clearly a communications failure of epic proportions.

That the PATA CEO has moved to rectify this is a step in the right direction.

Because it was the first time for the two PATA executives to be at the club, CEO Noor asked me, in my capacity as a Life Member of the FCCT, to help structure the briefing content to make it more relevant. I was happy to provide some guidelines.

When Mr Noor and I first mulled this idea in early July, I had warned him right at the outset that the foreign media turnout would depend ENTIRELY on what other newsworthy events were unfolding either in Thailand or elsewhere in ASEAN or the region. These are all senior foreign correspondents whose time is prioritised by the political and economic impact of specific events.

After the date and time was fixed, the PATA and FCCT teams proceeded with the operational and administrative arrangements.

And then my fears came true.

On August 7, the Thai court dissolved the Move Forward Party, the leading opposition party in the Thai Parliament. Just a week later, on Aug 14, the Thai courts dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the entire government on a constitutional technicality.

Overnight, Travel & Tourism fell off the foreign media’s radar screen. In the first half of 2024, several had reported on the recovery in Thai and Asia-Pacific tourism. I know many of them well, and often get called to get background or explain technicalities. The PTM2024 media briefing would have been perfect for them to get updated on latest statistics and ask questions about future trends, threats and challenges.

That was not to be. Not a single foreign journalist turned up. They may have watched the briefing from their offices via the live Facebook stream, but clearly the Thai government vacuum and the bunfights over the formation of a new Thai Cabinet by the daughter of controversial Thai political leader Thaksin Shinawatra was much higher on the pecking order.

Wisely, both Mr Noor nor Mr Semone have decided not to treat the FCCT event as a one-night-stand but to stay the course. And there is much to be gained by both sides.

The FCCT members now know that PATA exists. The PATA brand-name reached them in the pre-event publicity and newsletters. So, many foreign correspondents will touch base in future for info, comments and quotes on Travel & Tourism related stories. There is a value to that.

Note again that these are quality journalists who write about real issues such as the impact of Travel & Tourism on the environment as well as vice versa, how Travel & Tourism gets impacted by geopolitical events, safety & security incidents, health pandemics, natural disasters or whatever else is going on at a broader level.

They are NOT in the business of promoting destinations or specific products.

And yes, they ask difficult and challenging questions. Any CEO or Chairman worth his/her salt should relish that experience and be prepared for it.

When seasoned journalists get clear, well thought-out answers, their reporting reaches policy-makers and decision-makers at the highest level. Certainly, there are differences and disagreements about analysis and conclusions, but in free, democratic societies, that is all part of having good debate and understanding different perspectives.

Indeed, that is the biggest advantage of a healthy FCCT-PATA relationship.

To be taken seriously and respected for its contribution to economic and social development as well as to be held accountable for its negative impacts, Travel & Tourism needs well-informed coverage in the mainstream media. Robust check-and-balance mechanisms are critical contributors to both responsible and sustainable tourism.

Unfortunately, too many national tourism boards, tourism ministries, private sector companies and MICE events organisers have chosen to avoid the serious quality media, for fear of being asked challenging questions, and instead turned to the influencers, bloggers and content creators who are considered more “safe”.

By measuring the success of their “communications” by the number of brain-dead images posted on social media and the number of “likes” and fawning, rah-rah comments, they have made the same mistake as destinations: Pursuing quantity over quality.

The consequential dumbing down of the industry discourse has impacted both sides. Travel & tourism is deprived of intellectually-stimulating coverage and the media is deprived of valuable advertising dollars.

The memberships of both PATA and FCCT are living proof of that.

PATA membership has fallen precipitously since its move to Bangkok. So, too, has FCCT foreign media membership as a result of editorial cost-cuts triggered by advertising cutbacks.

But it’s not too late. PATA’s outreach has come at the right time.

Many of the core players are still around on both sides. Leading Travel & Tourism NTOs and companies are still PATA members. Leading global and Asia-Pacific media are still FCCT members.

In the new era, both sides have a lot to gain from establishing a long-overdue relationship.

Travel & Tourism communicators across the board need to upgrade the quality of their content. In turn, the mainstream media needs to better understand the humongous impact of Travel & Tourism on every aspect of human development, especially the UN SDGs.

That is a two-way street with a certified, win-win outcome.

I knew this way back in 1997-1998 when I helped the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the late Mr Alwin Zecha, former PATA Chairman, package and polish up the TAT’s bid to move the PATA HQ to Bangkok against heavyweight competition from Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore.

Bangkok won. One of the deciding factors was the large foreign media presence in Bangkok, a competitive advantage for the Thai capital. The official announcement acknowledged that.

Sadly, not a single PATA CEO or Communications Director in the last 25 years picked up on it.

Mr Noor and Mr Semone have finally plugged that gap. It took a while, but better late than never.

More info about the FCCT: https://www.facebook.com/FCCThailand/ or https://www.fccthai.com/