In preparation for her welcome address to the delegates of WYSTC 2013 we ask Ivy Chee, Regional Director for East Asia of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) why she’s excited to attend WYSTC and what she hopes to take from attending the Conference.
As PATA’s Regional Director for East Asia, Ivy’s responsibilities encompass one of the most dynamic, and fastest growing areas of the region.
Before joining PATA, Chee was Regional Senior Business Development Manager at Wego, an online travel metasearch engine based in Singapore. She has considerable experience across media, events, advertising, marketing, sales and account management from her past employment with Singapore Press Holdings, Innity Corporation Berhad and ASTRO All Asia Network in Malaysia.
Chee is Malaysian and was recruited at age 29 in January 2011 as Regional Director Asia at PATA due to her vibrant personality, language skills (she speaks five languages) and determination to make a difference. She is a Bachelor of Arts graduate in Professional Communications from RMIT University Melbourne and has diplomas in Mass Communications from the Melbourne Institute of Business Technology and Taylor’s College.
In her first 18 months in this challenging job she has positively impacted a wide range of communities and business clusters, with imagination and empathetic application.
Ivy is a rare next gen individual who embraces social media but also respects the value of traditional face to face engagement. Her Regional Director position requires her to meaningfully connect with Ministers and the CEOs of major companies, present at major conferences, whilst understanding the value of SME and micro enterprise contributions to the complete Visitor Economy.
Ivy also has considerable experience in engaging with complex projects that build capacity in developing countries. WYSE Travel Confederation looks forward to welcoming Ivy to WYSTC 2013.
What do you hope to share with the delegates in Sydney?
IC: I look forward to presenting the current growth that the AP market is undergoing, as well as the many opportunities that exist for investing in the region. With regard to the youth market specifically, I’ll be examining the types of young travellers we’re currently seeing in the region and what’s driving generations Y and Z to travel more and more.
Why are you looking forward to being at WYSTC?
IC: We hope to share the vision, exchange ideas and to inspire the next generation to create sustainable growth, value and quality of the travel and tourism industry in the region. In addition to this, I’m acutely aware of the importance of the youth market and I know that attending WYSTC will be a great way to understand it better.
Ivy will give the welcome address at 9am on Wednesday, 18 September at the opening session of WYSTC, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.