The Pacific Asia Travel Association is bringing some of tourism’s sharpest minds to Kuching as the PATA Knowledge Forum 2026 prepares to tackle the large, occasionally unruly questions confronting the Asia-Pacific visitor economy.
Held on 18 August at the Sheraton Kuching Hotel, the one-day forum will run alongside PATA Travel Mart 2026, which takes place from 18–20 August at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
Its theme, “The Next Era: Impactful Partnerships, Purposeful Growth”, leaves little room for polite conference wallpaper. PATA is pitching the gathering as a working forum where destination leaders, airlines, hotel groups, technology specialists, tourism authorities and community operators can examine what comes next and, more importantly, who will help pay for it, deliver it and make it last.
The timing could hardly be better.
Tourism across Asia Pacific is moving beyond the straightforward language of post-pandemic recovery. Visitor numbers remain important, of course; no tourism minister has yet been spotted throwing away a favourable arrivals chart. However, attention is shifting towards resilience, regional connectivity, artificial intelligence, community participation and the fair distribution of tourism’s economic benefits.
That is precisely where PATA intends to steer the conversation.
Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, the Sarawak Tourism Board and Business Events Sarawak, the forum will place Sarawak’s development ambitions firmly in the international spotlight.
The destination has increasingly championed tourism as more than a headcount at the arrivals gate. Its broader approach links economic prosperity with social inclusion, cultural identity, environmental responsibility, and stronger communities a sensible formula, provided all four ingredients go into the pot.
Heavy hitters headline Sarawak programme
The speaker list reads like a rollcall of the region’s tourism decision-makers.
The Honourable Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Sarawak’s Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, will join Eugene Tang, Chief Development Officer at the South China Morning Post, for the opening fireside chat, “Tourism, Partnerships & Purposeful Growth”.
The conversation will examine Sarawak’s tourism vision, its cultural identity, and opportunities for collaboration across Asia-Pacific. Sustainability ambitions and the future direction of regional tourism growth will also feature prominently.
PATA Chair Henry Oh and Sarawak Tourism Board Chairman Dato Dennis Ngau are among the senior industry figures appearing during the forum.
They will be joined by tourism leaders including Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office; Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Director-General of Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration; Adela Issachar Aru, CEO of the Vanuatu Tourism Office; and Dr Sharzede Salleh Askor, CEO of the Sarawak Tourism Board.
Aviation, hospitality, and business events will also be well represented.
Speakers include AirBorneo CEO Megat Ardian Wira Mohd Aminuddin; Eric Fong, Marketing Director at Macau International Airport Company; Dileep Mudadeniya, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships, Leisure, and Head of Corporate Affairs at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts; Lizam Dorji, CEO of MICE Bhutan; and Lujaina Al Maskari, Head of the Conferences Division at the Oman Convention Bureau.
Technology voices will include Booking.com’s APAC Head of Public Affairs, Yang Li, and Sojern Senior Director Bharat Nagpal.
Gary Bowerman, Managing Director of Check-in Asia, will set a broad commercial context with his keynote, “The Next Era of Travel: Global Business Trends Shaping Tourism’s Future”.
His presentation is expected to examine the economic, demographic and technological forces influencing tourism markets. Dr Temesgen Assefa, Chief Consultant at JTB Tourism Research & Consulting, will then provide a focused assessment of Japanese outbound travel, including its recovery path and changing traveller behaviour.
For operators attempting to forecast demand while global markets continue to change their minds before breakfast, both sessions should offer welcome perspective.
Sustainability leaves the brochure and enters the boardroom
One of the forum’s central discussions, “From Vision to Reality: Sustainable Tourism in Action”, will examine how destinations are turning admirable promises into measurable programmes.
Moderated by Yang Li, the panel will feature practical examples from Sarawak, Thailand and Macao. It will explore the difficult balance between increasing visitor expenditure, protecting natural and cultural assets, improving resident participation and maintaining a satisfying visitor experience.
That balance matters. Sustainability has become one of tourism’s most frequently used words, occasionally polished until it shines but says very little. The Kuching discussion intends to focus on what destinations are actually doing, how outcomes are measured, and which partnerships enable progress.
Another senior panel, “Purposeful Growth in an Age of Change”, will be moderated by Sarah Mathews, CEO of e-Tourism Frontiers.
Its participants will consider how destinations and businesses can stay competitive amid geopolitical uncertainty, evolving sustainability obligations and changing traveller expectations. Inclusive economic development will be an equally important part of the discussion, particularly as governments face growing pressure to demonstrate that tourism benefits communities rather than merely passing through them.
AI takes its seat at tourism’s top table
No serious tourism programme in 2026 could avoid artificial intelligence, and PATA has wisely chosen to confront it directly.
“AI, Digital Commerce, Sales & the Future Traveller” will bring together Bharat Nagpal and Yang Li for a discussion covering data, digital platforms, travel marketing, distribution and visitor engagement.
The session will explore how AI is changing the way travellers discover destinations, compare products and complete bookings. It will also consider how tourism organisations can use better data and smarter technology without losing the human service on which the industry was built.
After all, a chatbot may recommend a beach, but it still cannot enjoy the sunset or complain that the coconut is insufficiently chilled.
The forum will also mark the official launch of “Pacific Asia: Tourism with Purpose”, a digital series developed by PATA and Content With Purpose. Bracken Hollings, Head of Content and Storytelling at Content With Purpose, will appear through a prerecorded presentation.
The series will use films, interviews, and character-led storytelling to showcase tourism’s contributions to communities, sustainability, innovation, and regional connectivity. PATA announced the partnership in November 2025, with the full launch scheduled to coincide with the Sarawak Travel Mart.
Partnerships that produce more than handshakes
The afternoon session, “Building Impactful Partnerships Across Borders”, will examine how airlines, convention bureaux, hotel companies, tourism boards and travel businesses can jointly open visitor markets and improve connectivity.
Moderated by Lizam Dorji, the panel will bring perspectives from aviation, hospitality, destination development, and international tourism to the table.
Partnerships are hardly a new concept in tourism. The difference lies in whether they produce lasting routes, bookable products and shared commercial results or simply another photograph of smiling executives holding a document.
That point will be reinforced by two Memorandum of Understanding ceremonies. One will involve PATA and the Global Business Travel Association, while the second will bring together TOP25 and the Sarawak Tourism Federation.
The forum will finish by returning the discussion to the people who live in the destinations being promoted.
“Communities, Culture & Meaningful Tourism Experiences”, moderated by Sanctuary Resorts Guardian Andrew Jones, will explore cultural preservation, Indigenous storytelling, visitor dispersal and community-led tourism.
Jessica Yew, Director of Sticky Rice Travel, and Somsak Boonkam, founder and CEO of Local Alike, are among those contributing community-based tourism experience to the programme.
PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid said the forum would strengthen the association’s core commercial event by giving delegates room to consider the wider forces influencing the industry.
“PATA Travel Mart is fundamentally about connecting buyers and sellers and creating commercial opportunities, but business exchange is strengthened when the industry also has space to step back, examine the forces shaping tourism and share practical knowledge,” said Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO, PATA. “The PTM Knowledge Forum brings together an impressive cross-section of leaders and practitioners to explore how partnerships, innovation and purposeful growth can help shape a stronger and more resilient tourism economy across Asia Pacific.”
It is an ambitious programme, but ambition is exactly what Asia-Pacific tourism requires.
Kuching will provide the stage. PATA will provide the speakers. The real test will be whether the industry takes those ideas home and turns purposeful growth from a conference theme into standard business practice.
Further information and registration details are available from the official PATA Travel Mart 2026 website.
By: Supaporn Pholrach – © 2026.
Read Time: 6 minutes.
Author Bio:
Supaporn Pholrach came up in advertising when deals were sealed with a handshake, and deadlines were written on scraps of paper, not dashboards. She learned early that people mattered more than process, and it stuck. Armed with solid training and a stubborn work ethic, she built a reputation for getting results without turning hard or hollow.
Fifteen years at Bangkok Shuho would test anyone’s stamina. Supaporn stayed the distance. These days, as Sales Manager at Global Travel Media, she helps tourism brands cut through the noise with common sense, good humour and genuine warmth.
She doesn’t chase quick wins. She earns trust, builds loyalty and keeps her word. In an industry that rarely slows down, Supaporn is someone you’re quietly glad to have on your side.
