By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Malaysia bagged a Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award 2020 in praise of the branding and marketing efforts of the country as a premier tourist destination. The awards were announced during the Online PATA Gold Awards Presentation on 24 September, as part of Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020.
Taylor’s University won the coveted PATA Gold Award 2020 in the category of Tourism for All for its Virtual Tourism for Senior Citizens initiative, and it is also the sole PATA Gold Award winner by Malaysian organisation this year. PATA recognises the achievements of 23 organisations and individuals in Asia-Pacific.
Director-General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Musa Yusof cum Chairman of PATA Malaysia Chapter said: “On behalf of PATA Malaysia Chapter, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all PATA Gold Award winners and to thank all of this year’s participants. The achievements of this year’s winners will hopefully inspire and encourage our industry to create new responsible and sustainable initiatives as we look towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This was the first year that PATA announced the winners live, and it was an absolute pleasure to celebrate the winner of Malaysian representative for PATA Gold Awards 2020, Taylor’s University,” he said.
The PATA Gold Awards are a recognition of excellence, innovation, and the best tourism standards in Asia Pacific’s travel and tourism industry since its inception in 1984. This year’s awards attracted 121 entries from 62 organisations and individuals worldwide.
In 2008, Taylor’s University won a PATA Gold Award in the Education and Training category, recognising its efforts in promoting the Hotel Industry Apprentice Scheme (HIAS) programme to secondary school leavers and giving them training and employment in the hospitality industry.
In 2015, Taylor’s University received the PATA Grand Award in the Education & Training category for its public-private partnership in education and training in the Community College in Langkawi.
