31.10.2008
PATA conference held at Copenhagen Airport

On 29 October, Copenhagen Airports, the Hilton Copenhagen Airport and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) hosted this year’s international PATA conference, which aims to promote tourism in Asia Pacific. CPH is continuously working to attract new routes and airlines, and hosting the conference is an important part of this growth strategy.    

Copenhagen Airport regularly participates in international conferences to make its position as the key hub of Scandinavia more visible and to attract additional traffic. One of them, the PATA conference, was held on 29 October 2008 and was hosted by Copenhagen Airports, the Hilton Copenhagen Airport and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). It was the third year the conference was held, and the first time it was held at Copenhagen Airport.

There were 35 exhibitors and 145 delegates at the PATA conference. The exhibitors included Air Canada, Continental, Icelandair, Lufthansa, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines. Tourist offices from Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Korea, California and the Danish West Indies were also represented at the conference.

Part of CPH’s growth strategy
Increased collaboration among airlines was emphasised several times during the afternoon sessions, also by CEO of Copenhagen Airports Brian Petersen in his welcoming address, when he emphasised that collaboration should be used as a means to pave the way for increased growth for all parties.

“I am very pleased that today we are one of the hosts of this year’s PATA conference. As an organisation, PATA can help strengthen collaboration among airports, tourist organisations and airlines, so that we can jointly create a basis for increased growth. As part of our strategy of reaching 30 million passengers in 2015, we are focusing on developing traffic to Asia, which is currently one of the fastest growing markets.

In order to maintain Copenhagen Airport’s position as an attractive hub, we are currently expanding Pier C, which is used for all long-haul flights. As part of this project, the lounge facilities have been expanded and the aircraft stands have been improved, so that they can be used more efficiently.   

Karin Gert Nielsen, chairman of PATA Chapter Denmark and managing director of Atlantic Link said, “It is crucial that we work together across travel agencies, airlines, airports, destinations and tourist offices worldwide. In this way we can ensure that Denmark remains a strong and competitive market, both for incoming and departing traffic. It was a great pleasure to get the industry together, and the PATA Long Haul Workshop was a great success for all parties. I look forward to achieving even better synergies and results in future through strong collaboration and targeted proactive efforts on the part of Copenhagen Airports A/S.”