The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has become a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, led by the United Nations Environment Programme and UN World Tourism Organisation, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The initiative unites the tourism sector behind a common vision to address the root causes of plastic pollution. It enables businesses and governments to take concerted action, leading by example in the shift towards a circularity in the use of plastics. As a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, PATA commits to eliminate, innovate and circulate its use of plastics. Specifically, by 2025, PATA commits to:

• Encouraging affiliated organisations and businesses of partners to join the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative by spreading the word through media channels by August 2020, by highlighting 5 successful members’ case studies by January 2021 and by including plastics as key component of promoting sustainability in tourism supply chains by June 2021.
• Advising and guiding members to better manage plastics in their operations by integrating workshops, toolkits and trainings into Tour Link Project promoting sustainability in the Thai tourism supply chain by June 2021.

“As a signatory of the initiative, PATA endorses the common vision to address the root cause of plastic pollution. We recognise that there are many opportunities to solve the plastic problem, but various challenges remain as organisations may want to focus on other sustainability priorities or are not sure of where or how to remove and reduce plastic. Therefore, PATA is committed in helping advise and guide our members to better manage plastics throughout their entire supply chain,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.