In Brief: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) have announced a partnership to enhance the corporate business travel segment at PATA Travel Mart 2027, aiming to attract more business travel stakeholders and foster greater industry engagement.
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Picture: L/R: PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid, PATA Chairman Henry Oh and GBTA Senior Director for APAC Elle Ng-Darmawan at the MOU signing ceremony during the PTM Knowledge Forum at PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. – Image Credit PATA
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen the corporate business travel component of PATA Travel Mart 2027, to be held in Macao, China from from September 20-22, 2027.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid and GBTA Senior Director – APAC Elle Ng-Darmawan on August 18, 2026, during the PTM Knowledge Forum at PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Under the agreement, GBTA will serve as the Strategic Corporate Travel Partner for PATA Travel Mart 2027, bringing its global network of corporate buyers, procurement professionals, and travel managers together with PATA’s established Asia-Pacific tourism marketplace.
The partnership will focus on enhancing the business travel and business events components of PATA Travel Mart 2027 through programme development, corporate buyer mobilisation, knowledge exchange, and targeted business-to-business engagement.
As part of the collaboration, GBTA will work with PATA to support the development and delivery of corporate business travel content as part of the PTM Knowledge Forum. GBTA will also leverage its extensive professional network and communication channels to encourage qualified corporate buyers to participate in the event.
PATA will work with GBTA to facilitate the participation of qualified corporate buyers at PATA Travel Mart 2027, in accordance with PATA’s standard hosted buyer qualification and approval procedures.
The partnership will also include joint marketing and promotional activities across the respective communication channels of PATA and GBTA, helping to connect the Asia-Pacific travel industry with a wider international community of corporate travel buyers and decision-makers.
“Corporate travel plays an important role in connecting destinations, businesses and communities across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO, PATA. “Our partnership with GBTA will bring together complementary networks and expertise, creating new opportunities for meaningful business connections and knowledge exchange. We look forward to working together to further strengthen the corporate travel component of PATA Travel Mart 2027 in Macao.”
Elle Ng-Darmawan, Senior Director, APAC at GBTA said, “As the world’s largest and fastest growing region for business travel spending, APAC continues to play a critical role in driving global economic growth, trade and connectivity. GBTA’s recent 2026 Business Travel Index report underscores the scale and dynamism of the APAC market, which in turn makes collaboration across the travel ecosystem more essential than ever.
Our partnership with PATA creates a timely platform to connect travel managers, suppliers, destination leaders and other industry professionals in Macao. By combining our networks and expertise, we can unlock new opportunities, drive greater value for our members and ensure the region’s travel industry will continue to thrive.”
The partnership is designed to support a more business-driven PATA Travel Mart 2027 by providing corporate buyers with greater opportunities to discover Asia-Pacific destinations, products and services while enabling suppliers to engage directly with qualified decision-makers from the global business travel community.
PATA Travel Mart 2027 will take place in Macao, China, from September 20-22, bringing together tourism suppliers, buyers and industry stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond for business exchange, networking and knowledge sharing.