BANGKOK, 29 March 2021: Association of Thai Travel Agents named Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn as the new president for a two-year term following the annual general meeting and elections held 25 March.
He led a team of 22 executives who garnered 515 votes well ahead of the opponent team led by Mingkwan Metmowlee with 145 votes.
In a short statement posted on the ATTA website, the new president, who is the managing director of the outbound travel firm Quality Express, thanked members for their trust in what he called the “Stronger Together team”.
The opponent Mingkwan conceded defeat graciously. She is currently the president of ASEANTA, the regional travel agency association representing the 10 countries of ASEAN with still two years to go.
She is praised for lifting the profile of ASEANTA and being instrumental in efforts to achieve a single ASEAN-wide response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sisdivachr, on the other hand, faces the challenge of guiding the association out of an unprecedented crisis. ATTA has lost its share of the handling fee charged the Airports of Thailand for every passenger booked with a member travel agency since March 2020 and suffered declines in membership revenue as companies closed or failed to renew membership fees. He and his team are tasked with steering travel agents through what hopefully will be a year of recovery and getting ATTA’a revenue channels back up and running once travellers return to Thailand.
“Now, the election has passed, member solidarity will be at the heart of ATTA policy as we assist members in getting through this travel crisis together as fast as possible.”
