The 40th SKÅL Asia Congress was successfully held in Delhi, India from 31 March -2 April 2011 with about 120 international delegates & local members and VIPs, including SKÅL International President Tony Boyle & Vice President Mok Singh and Honorable Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit. Various cultural & traditional events and shows from different states in India such as Kathak, Kali and Bhangra, depicting different states culture and costumes showcased the rich cultural heritage of Incredible India to the Asian region and further helped as a catalyst in boosting tourist traffic into India.
Main sponsors were Discovery channel, Radisson Hotel, ITQ, Amadeus, Sky team, ITC welcome group, and hospitality partners Creative Travel, Le Meridien and Spicejet. SKÅL Club of Delhi was the first club in India formed in February 1954 and at present has 197 international members, which stands at the third position in membership among about 500 SKÅL Clubs in the world.
At the SKÅL General Assembly on 2nd April, Mr Gerald S.A. Perez was re-elected for President, SKÅL Asia Area Committee, for a term of two years, 2011 – 2013, along with a new board of officers:
Vice President Southeast Asia, Marco Giovanni Battistotti <Penang, Malaysia>
Vice President East Asia, Raymond Tait <Osaka, Japan>
Vice President West Asia, Praveen Chugh, <Delhi, India>
Director of Membership Development, Jason Samuel, <Bombay, India>
Treasurer, Malcolm Scott, <Bali, Indonesia>
Director of PR & Marketing, Robert Sohn, <Seoul, Korea>
Director of Young SKÅL & Scholarship, P. Saravanan, <Chennai, India>
International Councillor, Graham Blakey, <Macau>
Secretary, Ivo Nekvapil, <Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia>
<Note: New-elected positions are in bold and others re-elected.>
“Above all, on behalf of all Skalleagues in the region, I would like to express my sincere condolences to those victims and wish a fast recovery for those who have been affected by the devastating Earthquake and Tsunami that hit North Eastern part of Japan on 11 March 2011. Having the Congress in Delhi was an experience that has set the bar higher yet again with respect to the involvement of tourism industry stakeholders, local government support and club hospitality," said re-elected Asia President Gerald Perez.
"The gala celebration was enhanced by the festive atmosphere associated with India's World Cup win that evening in cricket, and we look forward to next year's Asian Congress in Penang" he added.
Under the theme of Green Conference on which the Skal Asia board agreed in 2009, no prints were distributed to participants while all presentation materials were emailed in advance and there was a ceremony of planting a tree at the garden of Le Meridien Hotel under a rule of at least one tree per conference.
The next 41st Skal Asia Congress is to be held in Penang, Malaysia, 10 – 13 May 2012 and Colombo, Sri Lanka will be the venue for the 42nd Asia Congress in 2013.
Photos Below :
1. Photo of Asian delegates
2. Photo of New Board of Officers [From Left: P. Saravanan, H. Kobayashi (former); J.Samuel, G. Perez, P Chugh, R. Sohn,
M. Battistotti]
3. Tree planting [Tony Boyle and Gerry Perez
4. Cultural Performances [Bhangra Dance and Kathakali Dance]
5. Sheila Dikshit (4th from the right) after the lighting the lamp
Editors Notes: A brief History of Mr. Gerald S.A. Perez
Gerald (Gerry) Perez is the former General Manager of the Guam Visitors Bureau (July 2005 – March 2011) and was the SKÅL Asia Vice President [East] and area’s former International Councilor. Having been active in the Guam club as past president and chairman of the SKÅL Asia Congress organizing committee in 2004 he is a well respected SKÅL executive. SKÅL has 20,000 members in 500 clubs in 90 countries. SKÅL is the largest association of travel and tourism professionals in the world. Mr. Perez sits on the Executive Committee of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Further information or inquiries
Adele Kim
Executive Director, Promac Partnership (Korea) T: +82 2 6351 5155 e: akim@promackorea.com
Robert Sohn
Director of PR and Marketing SKÅL Asia (c/o Promac Partnership) T: +82 2 6324 2878 e: rsohn@promackorea.com
