Travel agents are being asked to nominate a worthwhile project from across the Asia Pacific region to benefit from a £1,000 donation.
Projects travel agents may have visited on their travels or supported from afar will be considered in the Pacific Asia Travel Association initiative.
It comes as part of an international campaign called Doing Well by Doing Good to be launched globally by PATA at the Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference in Nepal this week.
Doing Well by Doing Good aims to encourage people across the region – or who do business there – to participate in or support environmental or social projects. Suggestions must be projects based in the Asia Pacific region and the closing date is March 1.
The agent whose project is selected will see the £1,000 – which is being donated jointly by Travel Aid 50 and the PATA UK chapter – go to their nominated good cause.
The chosen charity will be announced at the PATA Exchange in London on March 14 and the agent whose project has been selected will receive an Amazon Kindle with Wi-Fi.
UK PATA chapter executive director Ian Hawkes said: “At the time of the Asian tsunami, a fund was set up by key players in the UK travel sector called Travel Aid 50.
“This added 50p to each trip booked through participating operators and organisations and eventually raised around £25,000 that was used to help projects in the region, including the rebuilding of two schools and the founding of a community business in Sri Lanka.
“With the remaining funds Travel Aid 50 in conjunction with PATA UK has decided to use it as part of Do Well, Do Good Day – and to encourage the participation of our UK travel agent colleagues in helping us identity a worthy charity or project to benefit from the funding.”
Agents can submit brief details of their nomination by email to pr@pata.org.uk, including their name, name of their agency and contact details along with information on why they feel the project they have suggested should benefit from the funding.