ADB and PATA to partner with Plug and Play
SINGAPORE,Sept. 5,2019 -- TheAsian Development Bank (ADB)and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA),a non-profit membership association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism within the Asia Pacific region,have teamed up with Plug and Play,a global open innovation platform to develop technologies in the space of sustainable tourism for the region.
Within the space of travel and sustainable tourism,there is ample room for disruption and impact investment. Tourism is growing rapidly: an industry of industries that contributes $8.8 trillion to global GDP and sustains 318 million jobs. Last year,international tourist arrivals worldwide reached 1.4 billion,5.6% more than 2017. Strong and rising demand driven by improved connectivity,higher incomes,and open access to travel information suggest tourism will continue to foster global prosperity.
"ADB recognises that Asia and the Pacific benefit tremendously from tourism. Well-managed tourism is helping to end poverty,make cities more livable and inclusive,and promote peace," said Dominic Mellor,ADB Senior Investment Officer. "In this context,our shared intention is to leverage the Plug and Play Travel Asia Pacific platform to pilot and scale sustainable and circular economy technologies that reduce waste,conserve energy and water,and provide green solutions to reduce the tourism industry's carbon footprint and the effects of over-development across the region and beyond."
Headquartered in Bangkok,Thailand,PATA works in partnership with its private and public sector members to enhance the sustainable growth,value,and quality of travel and tourism to,from,and within the region. "PATA views sustainability as everybody's responsibility,and advocates for more inclusive stakeholder collaboration and public private partnerships," said Dr Mario Hardy,CEO of PATA. "We provide leadership within the travel industry across the Asia Pacific region,knowing that sustainability is the way forward to address the issues that will transform our members businesses for a more profitable,inclusive and ecological future. The Plug and Play Travel Asia Pacific platform is the perfect partnership to bring this opportunity to our membership."
Since inception,Plug and Play has evolved to become one of the most established global consortium innovation platforms covering 14 industry-themed verticals that reviews thousands of startups per year across its 29 offices. "In the past few years,we've been collaborating with over 300 corporations (mostly in the Fortune500 category) to connect them with cutting edge startups and execute their corporate innovation strategy. As part of our vision to help the world progress through innovation and connection,Plug and Play looks to continue to expand its reach within the regional tourism sector with more corporations to join the Plug and Play Travel Asia Pacific platform," said Jupe Tan,Managing Partner of Plug and Play Asia Pacific.
By partnering with ADB,PATA,and other corporations on this platform,Plug and Play looks to bring to market breakthroughs that will redefine the travel and tourism industry as well as support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region.
The Plug and Play Travel Asia Pacific platform is designed to bring together regional and international corporations to focus on key issues such as improving travel experiences,operational efficiency,and sustainable tourism. Currently working with several prominent airlines,airports,hotels,travel agents,and other industry stakeholders,Plug and Play aims to also provide regional local large enterprises with transfer and corporate best practices fromits existing global corporate travel consortium.
About the Asian Development Bank:
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous,inclusive,resilient,and sustainable Asia and the Pacific,while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018,it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966,it is owned by 68 members--49 from the region.
About PATA:
Founded in 1951,the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to,from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy,insightful research and innovative events to its more than 800 member organisations,including 95 government,state and city tourism bodies,20 international airlines and airports,102 hospitality organisations and 70 educational institutions,as well as over a hundred young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters,who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 35 local PATA Chapters worldwide,while hundreds of students are members of the 22 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data,forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members' desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA's Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London. Visit www.PATA.org.
About Plug and Play Asia Pacific:
At Plug and Play,our core objective is to catalyze technological advancement.
Over the past 13 years,we have built the largest innovation platform on the planet,bringing together startups,investors,and blue-chip corporations. We are now active in 25 locations globally,including U.S.,China,France,Germany,The Netherlands,Singapore and Indonesia.
We are experts in facilitating meaningful introductions,investing in startups,and bringing together key stakeholders into one world-changing network.
Plug and Play's Asia Pacific headquarters is located in Singapore. Our Singapore office provides partners with horizontal access to our APAC markets. By providing high quality business development and launch support to program participants,our centralized location helps build a thriving ecosystem in Singapore and its surrounding areas.
Plug and Play Contact
Plug and Play APAC
apac-marketing@pnptc.com
