Remembering Mamerth Banatin, a beloved travel pioneer and skilled dancer

The Philippine travel trade mourns the passing (Tuesday night) of Mamerth Banatin, 87, president and founder of Adam’s Express Travel, who is well-loved for blazing the trail to exotic and off-beat destinations as much as for his dancing skills.

In his decades-long career, Mamerth pioneered pilgrimage tours to the Holy Land, Europe and Mexico, and introduce previously unheard-of destinations such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Silk Road.

Travel Enterprise’s president Marciano Ragaza III, a long-time friend of Mamerth, said: “He was not just a travel agent. He was a travel organiser par excellence. He will be missed by the industry and the travellers he served so well.”

Skynet Travel’s president and general manager Dorothy Lauron-Aytona remembers Mamerth as a skilled dancer who danced with all the ladies at social events, and called him a “sweet and kind” person who was not afraid to speak his mind at industry gatherings.

Rowena Coloma, Travel Specialist Ventures’ president, admires the “hard work and passion that he put into his profession”, noting that during a number of fam trips they participated in over the past 30 years, Mamerth would also often go off on his own, usually on foot to visit NTOs and to know the locales better.

Coloma recalled an incident when Mamerth made a sales call in Lucena, Quezon and he only learnt that she had a branch there when he saw her photo. “He’s the owner of Adam’s Express yet he went as far as Lucena to sell his products,” she said.

Fiesta Tours and Travel business development manager Robbie Young said that “everyone has vignette about Mamerth”, referring to the latter’s undimmed passion for travel – Mamerth travelled to Oman last year, and to China and Taiwan early this year – generosity in sharing knowledge and training agents for free; skills in networking; and his sweet and kind disposition.

Enjoy the final journey, Mamerth.

source: TTG Asia