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GTM names four standout travel PR professionals whose professionalism, media understanding, and old-fashioned relationship-building prove that good public relations is still about people, not merely press releases.

Some public relations people distribute press releases; others genuinely understand the media.

The distinction is rather important.

Anyone with an email database and a reasonably cooperative computer can press “send”. The real professionals understand what happens after that email arrives. Editors are juggling deadlines, publishers are deciding which stories deserve valuable space, journalists need facts rather than marketing froth, photographs need to be usable, executives occasionally need to be found at distinctly inconvenient hours and, every now and then, somebody simply has to answer the bloody telephone.

From a publisher’s perspective, Global Travel Media believes the finest PR practitioners are distinguished not by the length of their title, the size of their agency or the number of adjectives in a media release, but by the quality of the professional relationships they establish with publishers and journalists.

Four people particularly warrant recognition.

And leading them, in GTM’s assessment, is Pornchanok “Pao” Thongrungrot of Centara Hotels & Resorts.

Pornchanok Thongrungrot: Professionalism Without the Theatre

There is something reassuring about working with a PR professional who understands the job without feeling compelled to remind everyone they do.

In GTM’s view, Pornchanok Thongrungrot is an extremely professional PR practitioner and an excellent example of how corporate hotel communications should be handled.

Pornchanok joined Centara Hotels & Resorts in 2015 as Assistant Corporate Public Relations Manager and progressed through the company’s communications ranks before being promoted to Corporate Public Relations Director in February 2023. Her current public title is Corporate Communications & PR Director.

Centara’s announcement of her 2023 promotion acknowledged her talent and professionalism, and her career with the group has included major initiatives such as the launch of Centara Reserve and the international expansion of the family-oriented Centara Mirage concept.

Long before reaching director level, Pornchanok was already involved in Centara’s international media relations, representing the group in communications with journalists and publishers across international markets.

That progression tells its own story.

Good organisations rarely entrust their corporate reputations to people by accident. Hotel groups, in particular, operate in an environment where one poorly handled issue can travel around the world considerably faster than a guest complaining about the minibar bill.

But titles and corporate biographies only tell part of the story.

From a publisher’s perspective, genuine professionalism shows up in the details: understanding what media organisations require, respecting deadlines, recognising that editorial relationships must work both ways, communicating clearly, and treating publishers as professional partners rather than names on a distribution spreadsheet.

That is where Pornchanok stands out in GTM’s assessment.

There is no unnecessary fanfare. No grand performance. Simply the traditional virtues on which good public relations was built: courtesy, competence, communication and respect.

They may sound old-fashioned.

Good.

Some things were better before somebody decided every human relationship needed a dashboard.

Mike Parker-Brown: He Knows Both Sides of the Desk

Close behind is Mike Parker-Brown, who possesses one advantage no communications textbook can manufacture: he understands journalism because he has actually done it.

A UK-trained journalist, Parker-Brown began his Australian media career with Traveltrade before moving into airline, tourism and destination communications.

His subsequent career has included Garuda Indonesia, the Hong Kong Tourist Association and an extensive range of tourism, aviation and hospitality assignments.

Importantly, the Australian Society of Travel Writers records Mike Parker-Brown, representing the Hong Kong Tourist Association, as its 1997 Communicator of the Year.

That is no insignificant accolade.

Recognition from working travel writers carries particular weight because these are the people at the receiving end of media pitches, destination briefings, interview requests, itineraries, corrections and the occasional avalanche of material that should probably never have been sent in the first place.

Mike remains professionally active, including continuing PR work connected with Tourism Solomons and international media activities involving Australian and New Zealand travel journalists.

His journalism background matters.

Mike understands that a journalist is not employed to copy a media release word for word.

He knows that a publisher does not owe anybody coverage.

And he understands that occasionally the most useful thing a PR professional can say is: “I don’t know but I’ll find out.”

It is an increasingly valuable quality.

Travel PR works best when there is mutual professional respect. Parker-Brown has spent enough time on both sides of the media fence to understand precisely why.

Sally Morgan: Media Relations the Way They Should Be Done

Then there is Sally Morgan, Head of Media Communication at The Unique Tourism Collection, another experienced practitioner whose work demonstrates that media relations requires considerably more than filling inboxes.

The Unique Tourism Collection has operated in tourism representation, sales, marketing and public relations since 1992, working across Australia and New Zealand.

Sally holds the appropriately direct title of Head of Media Communication, and the available record shows it is very much a hands-on media role.

Official Norfolk Island tourism reporting, for example, records Sally personally hosting a media briefing for Australian and New Zealand journalists alongside destination officials, tourism representatives and operators.

Earlier destination records also document her involvement in hosting and leading visiting media.

That is what useful PR looks like.

Bring the right people together.

Give journalists genuine access.

Let them ask proper questions.

Provide accurate information they can actually use.

It is not terribly revolutionary.

It is simply effective.

For publishers, Sally represents that increasingly valuable breed of communications professional who understands that relationships are cultivated over time.

One successful story is welcome. A professional media relationship that can produce worthwhile editorial outcomes over many years is considerably more valuable.

And that is the point too often overlooked in an era when communications can become obsessed with instant metrics.

Good media relationships cannot be reduced to an open rate.

Karine Lohitnavy-Frick: Bangkok’s Master Connector

Completing GTM’s standout four is Dr Karine Lohitnavy-Frick, founder and Managing Director of Midas PR in Bangkok.

Karine established Midas PR in 2007 and has more than two decades of experience in communications strategy.

She also serves as Chair of PRCA Thailand and has developed Midas into a recognised communications consultancy with expertise spanning corporate communications, reputation management, hospitality, travel, lifestyle and international media relations.

Her preferred description at Midas is “Master Connector”.

Normally, such a title might raise an eyebrow with a journalist.

In Karine’s case, there is substance behind it.

Midas publishes a testimonial from Prestige Editor-in-Chief Francois Oosthuizen praising the agency’s professionalism, understanding of the publication’s readership, quality of editorial material and ability to respond to requests under tight deadlines.

Because that testimonial appears on the agency’s own website, it should correctly be treated as attributed publisher testimony rather than wholly independent evidence.

Nevertheless, it addresses exactly the issues publishers care about.

And Karine’s standing is reinforced by independent industry recognition.

Midas didn’t just make the shortlist for the 2024 PRCA Thailand Awards.

It won the Media Relations Award for Money20/20 Asia and took the B2B Award for the campaign. Karine was separately named a finalist for PR Leader of the Year.

Awards do not automatically make somebody good at dealing with media.

But when professional recognition is backed by evidence that publishers appreciate the service, it is worth taking notice.

The Publisher Still Matters

This offers a broader lesson for the travel PR business.

Too often today, publishers can feel as though they have been pushed somewhere behind influencers, algorithms, engagement statistics and whichever social-media platform somebody discovered at last week’s marketing seminar.

That is shortsighted.

Credible publishers still provide something extraordinarily valuable: independent editorial judgement, established audiences, searchable content, industry authority and stories that can remain discoverable for years after a social-media post has disappeared beneath somebody’s photograph of breakfast.

The strongest PR professionals understand that.

Pornchanok Thongrungrot, Mike Parker-Brown, Sally Morgan and Karine Lohitnavy-Frick each demonstrate, in different ways, the value of treating media relations as a profession built upon relationships rather than transactions.

For GTM, Pornchanok takes the honours in this group.

Her combination of professionalism, corporate communications experience, media understanding and approach to publisher relationships places her at the top of our assessment.

Mike Parker-Brown follows closely, bringing the invaluable instincts of somebody who understands journalism from the inside.

Sally Morgan demonstrates the enduring value of genuine journalist engagement, accessibility and carefully cultivated destination relationships.

And Karine Lohitnavy-Frick brings formidable regional connections, communications leadership, award-winning media relations and a demonstrable appreciation of what publishers require.

Different careers.

Different markets.

Different approaches.

But one thing in common.

They understand that good public relations begins long before the press release is sent and continues long after the story has been published.

In an industry occasionally mesmerised by the latest communications fashion, that may sound wonderfully traditional.

We can live with that.