The award, war and SARS: RI's tourism endures<\/p>\n
I. Christianto, Journalist, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Violence and disease are most undesirable in tourism. But
\nanything can happen anywhere, any time, such as with the war in
\nIraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or
\nSARS.<\/p>\n
The most feared scenario was a prolonged war in Iraq, which
\ncould cost the global travel industry about US$30 billion in
\nlosses and three million jobs, according to the New York-based
\nWorld Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).<\/p>\n
The recent and sudden abolishment of the visa-free entry to
\nnationals of several countries was not a particularly bad thing.
\nTourism players should not fear that the new policy would reduce
\narrivals, because tourists usually come here for the
\ndestinations, not the visa-free facility.<\/p>\n
Many experts compare the SARS issue to the effect of Acquired
\nImmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the mid-1980s, which caused
\nglobal tourism arrivals to fall by as much as 20 percent to 25
\npercent, cutting at least $85 billion from the global travel
\nincome and $15 billion from corporate incomes.<\/p>\n
SARS fears have also led to the cancellation of various
\nconferences and performances in the world's major cities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Indonesia has declared SARS an infectious and
\ndangerous disease; anyone who avoids being tested for a possible
\nSARS infection or interferes with investigations could face up to
\na year in jail. The 52nd annual conference of the Pacific Asia
\nTravel Association (PATA) in Bali, however, is still set to start
\nMonday and will end on April 17.<\/p>\n
It is good to know that Minister for Culture and Tourism I
\nGede Ardika is to receive the PATA Honorary Life Member award
\nduring the annual conference, amid the domestic and global fears
\nof the impact of the Iraq war and the SARS outbreak on tourism.<\/p>\n
David Gillbanks, communications editor of PATA headquarters,
\nsays the PATA Honorary Life Membership is always bestowed upon
\nthe chairman of the PATA annual conference host committee, and no
\none has done more than Ardika to earn the honor this year.<\/p>\n
\"It's been particularly difficult to organize a conference
\nthis year. There have been perceived uncertainties centered
\naround Bali, a perception which is not shared by PATA, doubts
\nabout the war in the Gulf and its affects on travel, and the fear
\nof a SARS epidemic. Minister Ardika has shown strong leadership
\nand sensitivity in all this to forge ahead with plans to not only
\nstage a PATA annual conference, but to stage that event in Bali,\"
\nGillbanks said.<\/p>\n
The PATA Honorary Life Membership has been awarded since 1985.<\/p>\n
Ardika joins the late Soesilo Soedarman as a PATA Honorary
\nLife Member. The latter was the minister of tourism, post and
\ntelecommunications when he was awarded in 1991 at the 40th PATA
\nAnnual Conference in Bali.<\/p>\n
PATA also gives the Life Membership, its highest honor, to any
\nmember who has been active for at least 15 years, and who has
\nshown leadership and commitment to PATA's mission and ideals.<\/p>\n
The Life Membership has been bestowed to exemplary members
\nsince 1952. Indonesian members include then-directorate general
\nfor tourism Joop Ave in 1991 in Bali, and the late Sri Budoyo,
\nwho was then-chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tours and
\nTravel Agencies, in 1984 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
Many hope that the honor given to Ardika will encourage all to
\nhelp the Indonesian tourism sector, which is recovering from the
\nOct. 12 terrorist attacks on Bali.<\/p>\n
The sector is the second largest non-oil-and-gas foreign
\nexchange earner for Indonesia, after the textile and garment
\nindustry. The tourist industry contributed $5.7 billion in 2000
\nand $5.4 billion in 2001 to the government's coffers. Tourism
\nalso provides employment for about 12 million people.<\/p>\n
After the Bali bombings, the industry was expected to crumble.<\/p>\n
Yet Bali has now shown signs of slight recovery since the
\nattacks, which killed over 200 people. The number of foreign
\ntourist arrivals fell significantly, but began to rise again late
\nlast year during the year-end holidays. Foreign tourist arrivals
\nreached about 60,000 in January and were up to 68,000 last month.<\/p>\n
These are good signs, as a continuous plunge in tourist visits
\nwould have devastated the resort island, where almost the entire
\npopulation of 3.2 million relies on tourism or related activities
\nfor their livelihood. Most importantly, the island contributes a
\nsignificant part of the country's tourism revenues. Indonesia
\nreceived 5.15 million tourists in 2001, of which 26.3 percent
\nentered the country through Bali.<\/p>\n
Following the bombing, the government outlined a four-step
\nstrategy to revive Bali and the national tourism industry:
\nRescue, rehabilitation, normalization and expansion. Its goal is
\nto regain international and domestic confidence in Indonesia,
\nparticularly in Bali, as a safe, attractive and convenient
\ntourist destination.<\/p>\n
Full recovery was projected for 2004, but conditions may have
\nchanged now due to the war and SARS. Many believe the war and
\nSARS will have an extreme negative effect on the national tourism
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
However, the battlefield of the U.S.-led war in Iraq is in the
\nMiddle East, not in Southeast Asia. As for SARS, since the
\ndisease is mainly in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, domestic
\ntourism could increase if Indonesian travelers who regularly go
\nto those destinations stay home.<\/p>\n
The industry should continue to attract domestic travelers,
\nand although their expenditure is not as high as that of foreign
\ntourists, its will still partly cover the potential loss of
\nforeign tourist arrivals caused by the war and SARS.<\/p>\n
With a good tour package, domestic airlines and hotels can
\nstill enjoy relatively steady business, unlike international
\nairlines, which have suffered severely from the drop in passenger
\nnumbers.<\/p>\n
The Madrid-based World Tourism Organization has said tourism
\nwas likely to be one of the industries hardest hit in the short
\nterm, but its revival should be rather quick.<\/p>\n
Similar signs of consumer confidence were demonstrated
\nfollowing the conflicts in the Balkans and the 1991 Gulf War. In
\n1991, the industry still achieved 1.2 percent growth, followed by
\na spectacular 8.3 percent jump in 1992.<\/p>\n
\"Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have been experiencing the most
\nserious crisis in the history of world tourism,\" said Francesco
\nFrangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization.
\nBut despite attacks in Djerba, Bali and Mombasa against foreign
\nvisitors, \"tourism has not collapsed, as some were quick to
\npredict.\"<\/p>\n
In 2001, international tourist arrivals fell by just 0.5
\npercent, and in 2002 they grew 3 percent to 715 million, at a
\ntime when travel was also affected by an adverse world economy.<\/p>\n
For the PATA conference, only a few have canceled their trips,
\nand 714 delegates from 41 nations are registered to attend.<\/p>\n
The government has maintained its tourism target to welcome
\nbetween 4.5 million and 4.8 million travelers to the archipelago
\nthis year. With a growth rate of 5 percent to 7 percent in
\narrivals, the government expects to gain between $4.3 billion and
\n$4.6 billion in tourism-related revenue this year. In 2002, only
\nabout 4 million tourists arrived in Indonesia against 5.15
\nmillion the previous year, with the sharp plunge recorded for the
\nweeks following the Bali blasts.<\/p>\n
There is always some optimism for the industry, perhaps given
\npeople's need to travel to unknown shores. As Frangialli says,
\n\"Tourism has always bounced back and has always done so
\nquickly ... tourism has always come out of turbulent times in
\nmuch better shape than it has gone into them.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-award-war-and-sars-ris-tourism-endures-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}