The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of health and safety. This has led to a shift in travel behaviour with a greater focus on wellness and well-being both physically and mentally. This is evident in the overlap of wellness and luxury tourism with growing demand for boutique travel experiences offered by high-end hospitality brands. With new opportunities for wellness tourism to grow, expand and innovate, the keynote speaker will present the latest trends and insights into the wellness industry, its relation to luxury travel  and the opportunities for this niche sector.

Banyan Tree Group pioneered the nature-immersive tropical spa and responsible travel movement 30 years ago. Today, Renyung shares the evolution of this vision and what a new generation of purposeful travel looks like.

With the rise of the Asia Pacific, the region is setting travel trends and driving recovery through the development of a strong travel and tourism economy.

With vaccination rates rising, travelers are ready to see the world again,
in what could be a record-breaking return to travel. To better understand
consumer views toward traveling in a post-pandemic world, Flywire
commissioned independent research of frequent leisure travelers from
around the globe. Some travel trends found were:


● The first vacations post-pandemic will look a little different

● People will spend more money on travel than ever before

● Boundaries between work & travel are blurring

● Travel will resume soon and trips will last longer

Research shows us that consumers are becoming more interested in a more socially-conscious form of luxury travel, with wholistic wellness offerings that explore the broad spectrum of physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing in addition to providing a positive impact for the local community and environment. Three presenters will share their insights into the latest consumer trends in this quick fire session.

In this high-level fireside chat, a BBC presenter will sit down for a one-on-one interview with a senior representative from the Tourism Authority of Thailand to discuss how Thailand is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the reopening of travel, touching on their preparations leading up to the launch of the Phuket Sandbox programme, the results so far, and their plans for the future reopening of other destinations in the country.

What is the status of travel in Asia? This panel discussion will look to understand the consumer as it stands with wellbeing from the impact of the last 18 months and what we have seen. In particular, now that vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) have opened up, what are consumers really looking for with travel? Will sustainability and wellbeing be top of the list and what will consumers need? Lastly, from an industry standpoint, how can we influence travellers to book sustainably?

Following up from the fireside chat earlier in the day, this panel discussion will provide a more comprehensive  local perspective of Thailand's on-ground activities from operations, safety protocols and guidelines, to marketing, communications, and other promotional activities, as they have begun to slowly welcome back international visitors who are focused on wellness and luxury offerings.

Orienting tourism to a different set of values and behaviors that is catalytic to personal fulfillment, happiness, peace, justice, and wellbeing for all.

Join Liz Ortiguera, PATA CEO, in this informal and interactive meet-and-greet session. Network amongst other PATA International Members and find out what's on the horizon for PATA. Bring your questions!

PATA International Members can register in advance for this meeting at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIodOmrpzIiGdfOeOB826a2Ke2NMAzcOnOd

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The conference will be rebroadcasted to accommodate all time zones. Post-event recordings will be available exclusively to PATA International Members.

Liz Ortiguera, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)