Pacific Asia Travel Association

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association working to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.

As J Mullahey of Pan American Airways set about organizing the first Pacific area travel conference with the aim of promoting tourism to the largely undiscovered region of Asia Pacific.

The purpose of the meeting, Lorrin P. Thurstin noted, was to “discuss cooperation among Pacific countries that would result in a greater exchange of visitors to their mutual advantage, and to develop methods of presenting the Pacific area to the world’s travelers and the travel trade by reducing restrictions on Pacific travel, filling in accommodation gaps, and presenting the Pacific story in advertising and publicity”.

In March 1951, invitations were sent out for the conference, which was to be held in the first week of June, from the office of Hawaii's territorial governor, Ingram Stainback. Unfortunately many of the replies came in too late and the conference was postponed.

It was then in October 1951 that Thurstin, who was in Paris attending a European travel conference, issued his now-famous cable to Mullahey: "Proceed to send invitations to governments and carriers to attend Pacific Area Travel conference for purpose of establishing permanent Pacific Travel Association and determine most convenient date for majority during first three months 1952."

The inaugural conference eventually took place from January 10–15, 1952 at the Maluhia Auditorium of Fort DeRussy in Waikiki, Hawaii. There were 91 delegates in attendance at the conference, including representatives of government and business. Aside from Thurston and Mullahey, those taking a key role at this event were: Robert Allen, chairman of registration and housing; Melvin A. Conant, chairman of conference organisation; Harry Dove, chairman of counselor liaison; John Pugh, co-chairman of entertainment; John Jay Murphy, co-chairman of program and protocol; William O. Cogswell, Sam N. Mercer and Steward E. Fern of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, and Milton O. Holst of Holst & Cummings, Lrd.

On Tuesday, January 15, 1952, Lorrin Thurston announced that 25 active and 12 allied members had signed the constitution and bylaws of what was now known as the Pacific Interim Travel Association (PITA). PITA was legally incorporated in the state of Hawaii two months later.

The new association’s constitution declared its purpose was “To encourage and assist in the development of the travel industries throughout the Pacific area”. While marketing activities were its primary goal, the delegates of the first conference also envisioned the association as one that could work with both government and private business in developing travel.

One of PATA’s main accomplishments in its first year was to publicise itself to the international travel community. The association’s first executive director Sam Mercer noted that the first conference “focused the attention of the entire travel world on an awakening of tourism in the Pacific”. News articles and press releases were sent to, and subsequently published in, numerous publications – including both specialist travel press and general audience newspapers. A particularly effective vehicle for PITA’s self-promotion was its quarterly newspaper, PITA News Bulletin, which by the end of its first year was being sent to over 500 addresses throughout the world.

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Wikipedia