Bangkok, Thailand, March 12, 2025 / TRAVELINDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce that all of its activities in 2024 were carbon neutral. PATA has offset the emissions from its events through projects in Cambodia, with support from PATA member Sustainable Travel International, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting responsible tourism. Other operations, including training, staff travel, and office emissions, were offset in Thailand through the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation.

Since 2022, PATA has been offsetting the carbon footprint of its in-person events, while also applying emission reduction strategies in accordance with the association’s Climate Action Plan and Carbon Neutral Events Guidelines. Despite these efforts, certain emissions, such as those from transportation, electricity consumption, and waste generation, cannot be fully eliminated. To address this, PATA continues to support credible carbon offset projects while simultaneously implementing strategies to minimise emissions at the source. This includes exploring sustainable event design, optimising digital solutions to reduce travel-related emissions, and strengthening collaboration with venues and suppliers that prioritise sustainability.

PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid stated, “Sustainability is no longer an option; it is a responsibility. At PATA, we recognise the importance of leading by example and integrating climate action into every aspect of our operations. In 2024, for the first time, we achieved full carbon neutrality, offsetting emissions from all our events, operations, and capacity-building programmes. We are committed to do better in 2025 and years to come. We also encourage our members, industry partners, and destinations to collaborate with us in driving meaningful change and building a more resilient, low-carbon future for tourism.”

PATA offset the emissions from the PATA Annual Summit 2024 (PAS 2024), held in Macao, China, in May, and the PATA Travel Mart 2024 (PTM 2024), held in Bangkok in August, through the Keo Seima Project. This project protects the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, a tropical forest in Cambodia that is home to the Indigenous Bunong people and a range of endangered wildlife. It reduces emissions by preventing deforestation while preserving biodiversity and supporting the legal rights of indigenous communities to protect their ancestral lands from illegal logging, poaching, and large-scale agricultural expansion.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the Keo Seima Project addresses the socio-economic drivers of deforestation by creating sustainable income opportunities such as climate-smart farming, ecotourism, and skills training in crafts and services. It also improves community well-being by enhancing access to clean water, healthcare, and education, while supporting the preservation of indigenous cultures.

Through the Keo Seima Project, PATA fully offset 354.75 MTCO2e* generated by PAS 2024 and 490.9 MTCO2e generated by PTM 2024.

A second carbon offset project, the Southern Cardamom Project, also located in Cambodia, was used to offset emissions from the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2024 (PDMF 2024), held in Cha-Aam, Thailand, in November 2024. The project helps protect one of Southeast Asia’s last remaining primary rainforests, spanning over 4.5 million acres and home to more than 150 threatened species, including Asian elephants, clouded leopards, and Siamese crocodiles. The project is crucial in preventing deforestation, supporting wildlife conservation, and maintaining the region’s capacity to sequester carbon.

The Southern Cardamom Project also provides alternative income opportunities through ecotourism, conservation-based employment, and sustainable agriculture. By securing land tenure, providing access to micro-loans, and improving education and healthcare, the project fosters long-term economic stability, reducing reliance on forest exploitation. It also supports community-led forest protection with over 130 rangers patrolling the area to combat illegal logging and poaching.

Through the Southern Cardamom Project, PATA offset 120.91 MTCO2e for PDMF 2024.

The third initiative utilised to offset PATA’s emissions in 2024 was the PSTC Solar Farm 10 MW Project. This renewable energy project, registered with the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO), harnesses solar power to meet growing energy demands while supporting environmental sustainability. Located across Samut Songkhram and Sa Kaeo provinces, the project provides clean, renewable energy, reduces reliance on fossil fuels, and contributes to broader goals of carbon emission reduction and environmental preservation in Thailand.

Noor adds, “By investing in these initiatives, PATA is contributing to long-term environmental sustainability and community resilience, ensuring that tourism-related carbon offsets have a meaningful impact. As the tourism industry works towards a more responsible future, we remain committed to reducing our footprint while supporting projects that protect biodiversity, empower local communities, and safeguard the future of travel, while also encouraging our members and partners to do the same. In 2025, we will take further steps to refine our sustainability strategies, enhance our Climate Action Plan, and explore third-party verification of our emissions to ensure transparency and accountability.”

The PSTC Solar Farm 10 MW project enabled PATA to offset 95 MTCO2e from its general operations and other activities in 2024. These include PATA’s capacity-building programmes Tourism Destination Resilience and AI-Driven Transformation for Tourism SMEs, held in Kuching, Malaysia, in May and October, and the Macao MICE Forward: Innovate, Sustain, Excel – Smart Solutions Training for Sustainable MICE, held in Macao, China, in September.

For any queries, please contact SSR@PATA.org.

*MTCO2e is a unit of measurement that means a metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research, and innovative events to its member organisations, which include government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as youth members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism of the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 31 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 15 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts, and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has an official office in Beijing. Visit www.PATA.org.

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