Asia-Pacific travel industry to rebound despite crisis<\/p>\n
Rita A. Widiadana and Fitri Wulandari, Nusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
Businesspeople, involved in tourism in the Asia-Pacific region
\ncurrently meeting in Bali, are mostly optimistic that the tour
\nand travel industry would recover quickly from the onslaught of
\nnegative world events of late.<\/p>\n
Don Birch, president and CEO of Singapore-based Abacus
\nInternational, noted on Tuesday that although the regional travel
\nindustry is facing an unprecedented \"double-whammy\" of attacks
\nfrom the war and the outbreak of Severe Acute respiratory
\nSyndrome (SARS), the travel industry was fighting back.<\/p>\n
\"Industry leaders are not going to let wars and other troubles
\nderail and stifle business in the long term,\" Birch remarked.<\/p>\n
Abacus International provides travel information and
\nreservations to travel-related businesses in the Asia-Pacific
\nregion.<\/p>\n
Birch further said that from past experience in troubled
\ntimes, Asians still traveled but preferred to stay close to home.<\/p>\n
\"As long as the war in Iraq is short and SARS continues to be
\ncontained, I am confident that travel across the region will
\nreturn to stable levels again by the end of the year,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Birch added that history had shown that the travel industry is
\na resilient one.<\/p>\n
\"With the travel industry working together, we are more
\nproactive about using past experiences to take measures to
\nmitigate the worst effects,\" he said.<\/p>\n
While the war in Iraq was already expected by many who might
\nhave planned accordingly, SARS crept up on everybody in Asia,
\nespecially in East and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Industries ranging from shipping to electronics, insurance to
\ntravel are paying close attention to SARS.<\/p>\n
John M. Koldowski, managing director of Strategic Information
\nCenter of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said he noticed
\npositive developments in a number of countries in the region
\nresponding to the SARS outbreak.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, for instance, is reportedly considering easing up on
\nits SARS screening for travelers coming from affected areas such
\nas China and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
\"I have to further check with the Malaysian authorities. But
\nat least this is a positive sign to the regional travel
\nindustry,\" Koldowski told PATA's session on global medical
\nemergencies on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Since the outbreak of SARS, first detected in Guangzhou,
\nChina, a number of countries have imposed special medical
\nstrictures for visa applicants from affected countries.<\/p>\n
SARS has so far caused more than 140 fatalities in China, Hong
\nKong, Singapore, Canada and a handful of others with more than
\n2,600 infected.<\/p>\n
The disease has caused tremendous social and economic impacts
\nwith many international conferences and shows canceled. Flight
\nreductions and cancellations, industry layoffs, travel bookings
\nto some areas in Asia are down by up to 50 percent.<\/p>\n
Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia's Senior Executive Vice
\nPresident for Commerce Bachrul Hakim, acknowledged that specific
\nroutes to affected countries such as routes plying Manado-Taipei
\nand Medan-Singapore had been temporarily halted until May 15.<\/p>\n
\"We will reevaluate on a daily basis whether we will again
\nopen the routes,\" Bachrul said.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he said, Garuda maintained that its route plying
\nJakarta-Guangzhou three times a week. Guangzhou is where the SARS
\noutbreak is believed to have originated.<\/p>\n
Yahya Kisyanto, a medical professor and chairman of the
\nIndonesian Travel Society, also expressed optimism over the
\nprospects for the Asian travel industry.<\/p>\n
\"We are now going in the right direction and coping with the
\nthreat posed by SARS,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It is important for all governments to be open and transparent
\nin informing the public about SARS and its impact and how to
\ntreat patients.<\/p>\n
\"The whole world is now working together to combat the disease
\nand world-class scientists and doctors are now working hard to
\nzero in on the virus believed to cause the atypical pneumonia,\"
\nYahya said.<\/p>\n
The PATA meeting comprises more than 900 delegates from the
\nregion \"This is the right event for people involved in tourism to
\ngain more insight and knowledge on SARS and how to deal with the
\nproblem.\"<\/p>\n
Compared to previous weeks when the majority of people
\nincluding those in the travel industry were in a state of panic,
\nnow people are beginning to understand and to be more well-
\nprepared in the face of SARS, Yahya said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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