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PATA Singapore Chapter
29th Annual General Meeting
Chairman’s Annual Report
30 March 2007
CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT
30 MARCH 2007
Dear Chapter Members
Good afternoon and welcome to our Chapter’s 29th Annual General Meeting.
I trust 2006 was a good year for you and hope the first quarter of 2007 is equally
promising. Time flies and it is another AGM again and here I am again, delivering the
annual report for another successful year.
I shall report on the events and activities, as the Accounts will be presented separately.
Rest assured that the accounts are in excellent shape.
Events and Activities
23 Apr : PATA Annual Conference
Chairman Wong Soon Hwa & Activities Chair, Robin Yap represented the Chapter
at the Conference held in Pattaya .
Both also attended the Crisis Management Workshop conducted by PATA HQ.
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PATA Singapore Chapter
29th Annual General Meeting
Chairman’s Annual Report
30 March 2007
14 Jun : Macau Familarisation Trip
Jointly with NATAS, 13 pax went on the fam trip to Macau to gain first hand insight
into the workings of a casino operation. This would be most valuable when the
Integrated Resorts in Singapore opens in 2009.
14 Jul : Risks & Crisis Management in Tourism Seminar
Speaker, Mr Bert Van Walbeck, was flown in from Bangkok for the seminar. It was
held at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Bert shared with the audience the
importance of having a crisis management plan ready to deal with emergencies
and crises.
Attendance: 92 Chapter and industry members attended
2 Aug : PATA Schools Forum – Got Future or Not?
The 7th in the series in engaging students, the Forum, entitled “Tourism & Travel –
Got Future or Not” was targeted at school leaving students and their parents.
With the opening of the Integrated Resorts and other mega projects in the near
future, there is a huge demand for trained staff in the travel and tourism sector.
A presentation on the tourism education pathways, STB’s 2015 Tourism Plan and
a sneak preview of the magnificent Sands Marina Integrated Resort convinced the
audience of the bright prospects of the travel and tourism industry.
A forum consisting of industry experts from all sectors interacted with the audience
to talk about the importance of two-way tourism and why a career in the industry
would be most rewarding.
Key polytechnics were in attendance at their booths to woo students with their
diverse tourism courses and curriculum.
Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, Workforce Development Agency and
major polytechnics, the Forum was held at the Raffles City Convention Centre,
Stamford Ballroom.
Attendance : Some 500 students and parents attended.
Many thanks to Robin, Francis, Philip, Noel and special thanks to Arthur for doing
such a great moderator job.
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PATA Singapore Chapter
29th Annual General Meeting
Chairman’s Annual Report
30 March 2007
12 Sept : PATA Committee and Board Meetings
Your Chair represented the Chapter at the meeting held in Hongkong
27 Oct : Wired Asia 2006
Chapter endorsed the seminar in return for special concessionary registration fees
for members.
Book Prizes
The Chapter has always placed emphasis on learning and education. As an
encouragement to excel, book prizes of $250 each were awarded to top tourism students
in Temasek Poly and Ngee Ann Poly. It helps to raise the profile of the Chapter as well as
the industry.
Membership
Membership has its privileges. The cost of membership is determined by the level of
participation. Every time you participate in any event, you are in fact getting a discount.
You may even end up having a “free” membership if you attend all the events and take
advantage of the numerous benefits. Of course you cannot possibly quantify the value of
networking.
Membership decreased slightly, from 94 to 90 due to a variety of reasons. We welcome
some new members such as Euromonitor and Como Hotels.
Breakdown of membership as of 31 Dec 2006
Hotels 39
Travel Agents 27
NTOs 8
Airlines 6
Others 10
____________________
Total 90
2007 – Key Activities
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PATA Singapore Chapter
29th Annual General Meeting
Chairman’s Annual Report
30 March 2007
13 March PATA Seminar – in conjunction with Travel Distribution Summit
“Matching your product with the rising demands of the growing
Asian market”
Some 40 members turned up to listen to Min Min Wong from PATA
HQ who used supply and demand trends to forecast scenarios
19 – 22 Apr PATA Board & Committee Meetings in Vancouver / PATA Award
Your chair will represent the Chapter to attend the board and
industry council meetings as well as receiving the PATA Excellence
Award for our achievements. We have won the Spirit of PATA
Awards twice, the first one in 2001 and the other in 2004. Special
thanks to our members for supporting the Chapter’s many activities.
July / Aug Networking evenings
This has proven popular and we are working on it. Watch out for
details.
Aug Schools Tourism Project – 8th in the series
The Exco is working on this and will advise details when ready.
25-28 Sep PATA Travel Mart
The Mart will be held in Bali at the Bali International Convention
Centre. Do sign up if you have not done so.
7 Dec Tourism Industry Ball
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PATA Singapore Chapter
29th Annual General Meeting
Chairman’s Annual Report
30 March 2007
This year, it will be held at the Shangri-la Ballroom. We promise you
a night of great entertainment and good food. SKAL is chairing it.
Mark it down in your diary. One FOC ticket for each Chapter
organization worth $200. Membership has its privileges.
Apr 2008 PATA Summit
There is no PATA Conference this year but there will be a PATA
Summit in 2008. It will be shorter than the traditional Conference
and is positioned as a high-powered meeting over a day and a half.
Bid for hosting is now open.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All the above activities and accomplishments can only be made possible with a good team
of Committee members. I therefore wish to register my sincere appreciation & thanks to:
Vice Chairman & Honorary Treasurer - Noel Hawkes
Honorary Secretary - Phun Teow Kie
Advisor - Tan Chee Chye
Activities Chair - Robin Yap
Human Resource Chair - Philip Lim
Communications /Publicity Chair - Darren Ng
Membership Chair - Raphael Saw
Member - Bernard Ong
Member - Edwin Kwee
Member - Kang Siew Keng
Matthew Wong (alternate)
Member - Arthur Keong
And not forgetting Nam and his team, our Chapter Secretariat, for their tireless
administrative support.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to once again extend my gratitude to my
Exco colleagues and Chapter Members for the support and encouragement throughout
my term.
We look forward to be of greater service to all of you and all we ask for is your active
participation in the events we organize for you. Thank you and enjoy your lunch.