# PATA Travel Mart 2026 and Malaysian Tourism Awards

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/pata-travel-mart-2026-in-malaysia
> Updated: 2026-08-22T14:09:10.000Z. Sources: 10. Developments: 2.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) held the PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, from August 18 to 20. The event served as an international business-to-business travel trade platform, hosting over 1,100 delegates from 48 countries to facilitate thousands of scheduled meetings.

During the mart, PATA announced several industry honors. Lizam Dorji, CEO of MICE Bhutan, was named the 2026 PATA Face of the Future Grand Winner. The PATA Gold Awards recognized excellence across 26 categories, with the Sarawak Tourism Board winning the Grand Title in Marketing and the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development winning the Grand Title in Sustainability and Social Responsibility. Additionally, Tourism Malaysia won a PATA Gold Award in the Marketing – Travel Video category for its ‘Surreal Experiences’ campaign, and the PATA Nepal Chapter received the Award of Excellence among global PATA Chapters.

Organizational updates included the appointment of five new Executive Board members, such as Jennifer Chun from the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Yang Li from Booking.com. The event also featured discussions on niche sectors, including the participation of the South-North Korea Exchanges and Cooperation Support Association (SONOSA) to promote Peace Tourism. Nepal utilized the platform to promote wellness tourism in anticipation of its 2027 Wellness Year.

Separately, Malaysia’s Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) was named Best Meetings Destination (Asia) 2026 at the M&C Asia Stella Awards. This follows a period of growth where Malaysia recorded 21.2 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 2.5 per cent increase over the previous year.

## Claims

- Malaysia won the Best Meetings Destination (Asia) 2026 title at the M&C Asia Stella Awards. (single source)
- Tourism Malaysia received a PATA Gold Award 2026 in the Marketing – Travel Video category for the 'Surreal Experiences' campaign. (single source)
- Malaysia recorded 21.2 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 2.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2025. (single source)
- The PATA Nepal Chapter received the Award of Excellence among global PATA Chapters at the PATA Travel Mart 2026. (single source)
- The PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, hosted over 1,100 tourism delegates from 48 countries. (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-08-22: Malaysia earns major tourism and business event awards

Malaysia earns top honors as Best Meetings Destination (Asia) 2026 and wins a PATA Gold Award for its tourism marketing, while the PATA Nepal Chapter receives an Award of Excellence in Kuching.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/malaysia-earns-major-tourism-and-business-event-awards

### 2026-08-18: PATA Travel Mart 2026 convenes tourism leaders in Sarawak

The PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Sarawak, Malaysia, convened over 1,100 tourism delegates, featuring major industry awards, new executive board appointments, and B2B networking opportunities.

7 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/pata-travel-mart-2026-opens-in-sarawak-malaysia

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Cite as: PATA Travel Mart 2026 and Malaysian Tourism Awards. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/pata-travel-mart-2026-in-malaysia