Asian tourism could rebound soon<\/p>\n
Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press, Manila<\/p>\n
The world tourism body said Monday it expects tourism in Asia
\nto bounce back by the end of the year despite being battered by
\nSARS fears, the Iraq war and last year's Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
\"We expect the second part of the year to be positive and
\ntourism will be back on track in the fourth quarter,\" World
\nTourism Organization Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said
\nin an interview. He was in Manila to attend a five-day WTO
\nmeeting of more than 100 delegates and tourism officials from at
\nleast 18 countries in the region.<\/p>\n
Fears of catching severe acute respiratory syndrome during
\ntravel caused a 30 percent to 40 percent drop in reservations in
\nthe region this year, compared with last year, even damaging
\ntourism industries in countries in the region that had no cases
\nof local transmission.<\/p>\n
But Frangialli noted that the World Health Organization has
\ndeclared the disease on the wane.<\/p>\n
He said Asia's tourism started to recover after the end of the
\nIraq war, but that the rebound was delayed by the SARS outbreak.
\n\"But the recovery will be taking place before the end of the
\nyear. This is for sure,\" Frangialli said.<\/p>\n
Asia saw an 8.3 percent jump in tourist arrivals last year
\ncompared with 2001, despite the continuing effects of the Sept.
\n11 terrorist attacks; last October's bombings on Bali that killed
\n202 people; and the region's lackluster economic performance,
\nFrangialli said.<\/p>\n
He declined to provide figures on the tourism recovery, citing
\na lack of data. One of the objectives of the WTO conference is to
\ncome up with a set of indicators to measure the economic impact
\nof tourism.<\/p>\n
Frangialli said the indicators would allow officials to assess
\nthe crisis suffered by the industry over the past two years, make
\ngood forecasts and see how tourism can help create jobs and
\ncontribute to economies.<\/p>\n
In May, the International Air Transport Association said it
\nexpects a loss of US$10 billion this year due to SARS, the
\nlingering effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.<\/p>\n
The U.N.-affiliated WTO has 141 member states and seven
\nterritories as associate members. Its headquarters is in Madrid,
\nSpain.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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