Yeji Cho From Korea Tourism Organization Sets New Standards In Sustainable And Inclusive Tourism, Earns Pata Recognition In 2025

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The Korea Tourism Organization’s Yeji Cho has conscionable been named nan Grand Winner of nan 2025 PATA Face of nan Future Award. This esteemed title celebrates Cho’s outstanding committedness to accessible and sustainable tourism, her visionary leadership, and her tireless efforts to heighten world collaboration crossed nan recreation sector. Joining her connected nan honour rotation are 3 different emerging tourism leaders, each commended for pioneering activity successful sustainability, strategical management, and transformative leadership.

Celebrating Excellence: Yeji Cho’s Contributions

Yeji Cho has played a pivotal domiciled successful advancing accessible tourism and sustainability practices astatine nan Korea Tourism Organization. From 2021 to 2023, she led nan Accessible Tourism Project, importantly improving infrastructure and acquisition programs tailored for travelers pinch disabilities. Her initiatives align intimately pinch nan UN Sustainable Development Goals and earned nan Korea Tourism Organization nan PATA Gold Award successful nan “Tourism for All” class successful 2022.

Cho’s efforts besides strengthened KTO’s world relationships, including partnerships pinch salient organizations specified arsenic UN Tourism, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, ASEAN+3, and PATA itself. Her expertise to foster world practice is exemplified done her instrumental domiciled successful expanding nan PATA–KTO Internship Program. This inaugural involves recruiting and dispatching Korean interns to nan PATA Secretariat and processing a robust alumni network, frankincense importantly contributing to nan profession improvement of young tourism professionals.

Promoting Sustainable Tourism

Recognized for his dedication to sustainable tourism, Poornaka Delpachitra, Country General Manager/Director for Intrepid Travel successful Sri Lanka, was honored for his outstanding sustainability initiatives. Delpachitra led Intrepid’s post-crisis betterment successful Sri Lanka, championing eco-friendly and community-focused tourism practices. Under his leadership, Intrepid Sri Lanka importantly enhanced its sustainability profile, earning nationalist acclaim for its committedness to responsible tourism practices that prioritize biology conservation and organization empowerment.

Advancing Strategic Management successful Tourism

Dr. Bella Vongvisitsin, Assistant Professor successful nan Hospitality & Tourism Management Programme astatine Hong Kong Metropolitan University, has been honoured for her outstanding contributions to strategical management. Her investigation investigates community-based tourism, destination management, and nan advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Across Thailand and nan wider Asia-Pacific, she has translated world insights into argumentation invention and community-driven programmes. As nan laminitis of Inclusive Tourism Asia, a societal endeavor housed astatine Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, she champions accessible tourism and gender equality, sharing champion practices astatine world conferences and advisory boards.

Leading pinch Innovation

Nikhil Jeet, Director astatine DDP Group, India, was recognized for exemplary activity during challenging times. Amid nan COVID-19 pandemic, Jeet launched “COVID eLearn,” a integer level designed to amended and certify complete 2,000 recreation agents crossed India. He further spearheaded India’s pioneering integer recreation conclaves, establishing sustainable integer ecosystems that proceed to bolster manufacture development. Jeet besides actively mentors young professionals and collaborates pinch underrepresented communities, driving inclusivity wrong nan recreation sector.

The Significance of nan PATA Face of nan Future Award

Since its constitution successful 2002, nan PATA Face of nan Future Award has honored complete 20 exceptional young professionals wrong nan Asia-Pacific region. The grant recognizes individuals who show outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication to sustainable tourism development, aligning intimately pinch PATA’s ngo of fostering responsible and inclusive maturation crossed nan recreation and tourism industry.

Benefits and Recognition for Awardees

As nan 2025 recipient, Yeji Cho will now correspond younker interests connected nan PATA Board, importantly influencing nan association’s early initiatives. Additionally, she will person afloat sponsorship to participate successful nan PATA Travel Mart 2025 (PTM 2025) and characteristic arsenic a panelist astatine nan PATA Knowledge Forum 2025. Her position will reside nan evolving workforce wrong nan tourism sector, providing valuable insights from a next-generation perspective.

PATA’s Commitment to Youth Empowerment

The PATA Face of nan Future Award underscores nan association’s committedness to empowering young tourism leaders. By recognizing emerging talent, PATA intends to animate and cultivate a caller procreation of professionals who will sustainably style nan early of tourism. The grant fosters an situation wherever innovative ideas, resilience, and determination are celebrated and encouraged.

Looking Ahead: A Promising Future

Yeji Cho’s nickname highlights nan captious domiciled of young leaders successful shaping nan tourism industry’s future. Her impactful contributions exemplify really dedication, innovative thinking, and beardown world practice tin thrust meaningful alteration wrong nan sector. The nickname of different emerging professionals further emphasizes nan industry’s corporate spot and divers approaches to addressing modern tourism challenges.

A Journey Towards Inclusive Tourism

Yeji Cho reaching this awesome profession milestone is much than conscionable a individual victory; it marks a hopeful measurement for inclusive and sustainable tourism everywhere. Her communicative encourages young pros passim nan Asia-Pacific, showing really important they are for responsible travel. By welcoming caller chances and building beardown world partnerships, Cho and nan different grant winners ray nan way to a tourism manufacture that is resilient, welcoming, and sustainable for everyone.

Image Credit: PATA