Thank you Mr. Deeson,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sawasdee khrap and Good morning,

On behalf of the Royal Thai Government and Thai tourism industry, I am very honoured to welcome you all here this morning. Allow me to begin first by thanking the board members of the Pacific Asia Travel Association for choosing Bangkok as the first city to host the PATA CEO Challenge 2008.

Thailand and PATA share a long history. Bangkok was chosen as the city to host the association's headquarters following its move from San Francisco. We were the first country to be chosen as host of the PATA Travel Mart following its return to the rotation system. We have proudly hosted many previous marts, conferences and seminars, many of which have played a major role in advancing the cause of Asia-Pacific travel and tourism. We are proud that Thailand is continuing to play a major role in the evolution of PATA.

Distinguished delegates,
Today, we are again proud to be hosting the first of these new-format PATA conferences. We believe that the conference’s theme, focusing on climate change, is both timely and appropriate. The travel and tourism industry is a primary beneficiary of a clean and healthy environment. Fresh air, unpolluted waters, lush jungles and a pristine natural landscape are very much in demand, especially as people seek to get away from their high-stress lifestyles.

At the same time, however, we have to recognise that the increasingly important travel and tourism sector — totalling 846 million international arrivals and some 4 billion domestic trips in 2006 — is both a contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and at the same time highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Many international travel industry organisations are doing their part to alleviate the situation. The issue was addressed at the Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in Davos organised by the UN World Tourism Organisation last October. There is widespread recognition that the tourism sector needs to focus on both, adaptation measures in affected tourism destinations in order to safeguard economic returns and jobs, and mitigation measures of specific forms of tourism in order to achieve substantial emission reductions.

Just last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) signed a historic commitment to tackle climate change along with top industry leaders. It commits the airline industry to attain a 25 per cent fuel efficiency improvement target, and more importantly towards achieving the vision of carbon neutral growth and eventually a carbon emission free industry. Here in Bangkok, over the next two days, the Asia-Pacific region will also join the effort, perhaps not a moment too soon.

Distinguished delegates,
Thailand is proud to be doing more than its fair share in terms of protecting the natural environment by developing sustainable tourism. Both individually, collectively and in partnership with our environmental organizations and foundations, the Thai public and private sectors both are providing high-quality travel experiences in some of the most spectacular parts of the world. We are clearly demonstrating that environmental protection and cultural respect are compatible with running a successful business.

As we look into the future, however, we realise that we will have to become a little bit more conservative in our future growth plans. This will require us to stress quality over quantity, a policy that we feel will become even more important worldwide. That is why we are proud to be the home of one of the world’s most effective ways of environmental conservation — the Sufficiency Economy concept championed by His Majesty the King.

This sufficiency economy concept is now being increasingly followed because it stresses the moderate practices in Buddhism which are people-centred and go beyond technical knowledge to incorporate the principles of wisdom and morality. A number of projects initiated by His Majesty are now open for public viewing, under the name of Royal Discovery Initiative projects. Please do find the time to visit some of these projects, a few of which are within driving distance of Bangkok. You will find them to be of considerable benefit in formulating your own plans and strategies going forward. Indeed, I believe the concept of sufficiency economy will play a major role in setting new benchmarks for the management of tourism in future.

In addition, I am proud to say that we also have projects such as the Green Leaf Foundation’s environmental standards and energy efficiency scheme for hotels, Green Fins, Environmental Quality Index for Tourist Beach Assessment, and the Thailand Tourism Awards. All of these are designed to reward good practises and ensure that the people who live in the tourist areas benefit economically from tourism and thus have the incentive to conserve their environment.

The Thai tourism private sector is also reinventing its products and services to reflect the new “holistic” approach to life in general. Today, Thai health and wellness products are well-known all over the world. Age-old methods of Thai healthcare are rooted in traditions that place the preservation of environment and culture at their very heart.

At the same time, we have seen a phenomenal increase in the number of small, exclusive boutique hotels designed for guests seeking a comfortable, delectable ambience in natural and environmental surroundings. The survival and success of these products is based entirely on how well we take care of the environment from which they draw their strengths.

Distinguished delegates,
Having seen all this, we hope you will use the valuable information and knowledge gained from this event to support the Thai tourism industry. We hope you will consider Thailand favourably as a venue for future meetings and conferences. We also hope to work with PATA to attract more such events, which will also help us continue to improve the quality of our environmentally-friendly products and services.

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I would like express my full confidence that this event will go a long way towards helping us all gain a wider perspective on the pressing issue of climate change. It will also help us emerge with new ideas and new policies of critical importance to the future of both our industry and our planet. The significance of this landmark event cannot be underestimated.

Once again, I thank the Board members of PATA for their confidence in choosing Thailand as the venue, and the members at large for their valuable input in designing the concept. I wish you all the best for a successful conference.

Sawasdee khrap.