The head of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata), Liz Ortiguera, has resigned less than two years after taking up the post.
Pata confirmed the resignation of chief executive Ortiguera, with association vice-chair Benjamin Liao saying: “Liz served Pata with distinction as the first Asian female CEO in the organisation’s 72-year history.”
However, her departure coincides with the association’s executive board undertaking a wide-ranging review of the its operations and strategy.
Ortiguera was appointed in April 2021 and succeeded former chief executive Mario Hardy in mid-May.
She said: “It was a true honour to serve as Pata’s CEO. I am confident that Pata, with its diverse member base of industry leaders, can continue to support and lead our industry’s recovery and growth.
“I’m handing back the reins with thanks to Pata members for the opportunity to lead at this critical time of global industry recovery.”
Liao thanked Ortiguera for her leadership “during a difficult period for the industry” and said: “We recognise her many accomplishments including new agreements with the Singapore Tourism Board, the Saudi Tourism Authority and Trip.com as well as expanded partnerships with Visa, MasterCard, and Airbnb.”
Yet Ortiguera’s departure is likely to herald changes as the association looks to move in a “new direction”.
Peter Semone, the chair of Pata, announced: “The executive board has established five expert taskforces or ETFs to review critical elements of Pata’s development strategy, including its brand and voice, events, membership engagement, organisational design and digital readiness.”
He said: “The recommendations of these ETFs will help define Pata’s new direction strategically and operationally.”