PATA Gold Awards 2004 adds Carrier, Spa and E-Newsletter Categories

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced additional categories for the PATA Gold Awards 2004. They are Carrier (Air, Land, Water) for Domestic, Regional, and International operators; new categories for spas and e-newsletters have also been added. The PATA Gold Awards competition is the Asia Pacific travel industry's premier awards programme recognising excellence, innovation and dedication across the whole spectrum of travel and tourism endeavours in the region.

Within the Gold Awards, PATA will also present Grand Awards in the following categories: Environment; Marketing; Education & Training; and Heritage & Culture. Gold Awards will be given in these categories and in others such as travel journalism, public relations and advertising. The PATA Gold Awards competition is sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office.

Award recipients will be honoured during a special luncheon on April 19, 2004 during the 53rd PATA Annual Conference in Jeju, Korea (ROK). Winners will also be featured in the PATA 2004 Conference Daily newspaper. The winning entries will be on display at the Conference for all delegates to enjoy.

The Gold Awards programme is open only to PATA-member organisations, with the following exceptions: PATA chapters may enter the Environment, Heritage & Culture and Education & Training categories. The Travel Journalism category is open to all published writers and photographers.

PATA President and CEO, Mr. Peter de Jong said: "We hope that the new types of sub-categories for the different kinds of carriers will encourage an even wider range of PATA-member companies to participate. Small and big players are treated equally." He added: "The inclusion of a new e-newsletter category reflects the growing power and sophistication of electronic news and marketing."

The closing date for entries is December 15, 2003