Over the past week Thailand has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and the Thai government has gradually implemented new measures to contain the virus, therefore we at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) have decided to do our civic duty and take care of our employees by implementing a work from home policy and will be closing the office until further notice.
We have tested all of our systems over the past week and proven that we can safely continue to operate normally. Please rest assured that we will continue to operate and service our members to the best of our abilities during these difficult time. With this in mind, I would like to update our members on a series of upcoming initiatives that we have been working on to assist our members.
As noted in my email earlier this week, we have been working on creating a PATA Crisis Resource Centre to collate reliable data and information to assist all industry stakeholders as they deal with the current crisis. We are currently asking governments, and international and national organisations to seek their assistance in collecting information on aid and relief packages available to businesses in their respective destinations. This resource will be open and available to the public; however, we will need your assistance and support for this initiative. Further details will be made available soon as well as how you can assist in this endeavour.
In partnership with our members, we are also in the process of organising various webinars that may be of value to our various members. To stay updated on all our activities, I do encourage you to sign up to our weekly newsletter. As some of you may have noticed, we have also been adding a weekly recap of facts, stats, official statements and key resources on COVID-19 to our newsletter, which is also posted on the PATA Blog.
Furthermore, we are regularly receiving requests from our members on advice during this crisis, most recently on work from home policies. The CEO Blog, to be posted this week, will focus on sharing some recommendations for employers and will be guest written by PATA Chief of Staff, Trevor Weltman.
The Association’s other work is continuing as normal. Over the next couple of months, we will be releasing our 2019 Annual Report as well as the PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts and PATA Destination Forecasts, which will contain some forecasting adjustments due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, we will also be releasing an updated Member Directory, which will be available for PATA members only. Our events planning also continues as scheduled, however contingencies are being explored in the case that the current situation does not improve over the coming months.
Lastly, if you have been following our social media channels, you may have seen our #StayHomeTravelLater movement. We invite you to show your spirit and respond to this solidarity call by sharing your WFH (work from home) photo alongside a photo of your planned destination in a social media post with the hashtag #StayHomeTravelLater, and don’t forget to tag PATA.
These are challenging times but together we can get through this. We must continue to do our part and protect the health of our families, employees and the public. Now more than ever is the time for all of us to stand together and partner for a better tomorrow. Please help us help you, so we can all travel later.
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