WTO says terror a short-term blow<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Sydney<\/p>\n
The Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said Monday that
\nthe recent terrorist bombing on the Indonesian holiday island of
\nBali has dealt a severe blow to regional tourism.<\/p>\n
Bali and other Indonesian islands had been popular
\ndestinations for Australians until the Oct. 12 bombing of the
\nSari nightclub that killed an estimated 92 Australians.<\/p>\n
The Bali massacre has seen a "dramatic blow to Indonesian
\ntourism...it' a dramatic blow to regional tourism", Geoffrey
\nLipman, special advisor to the Secretary General of the World
\nTourism Organization, told reporters in Sydney.<\/p>\n
The World Tourism Organization will meet in London Nov. 12 to
\nassess what can be done to start a global tourism recovery, he
\nsaid. "There is no silver bullet, no magic answer."<\/p>\n
But Christopher Brown, head of Australia's Tourism Task Force,
\nsaid he is confident the flow of local tourists to Bali will
\nrecover by mid-2003.<\/p>\n
"Australians are very resilient travelers. We will fly in the
\nmiddle of a war if there is a cheap airfare. Australians will
\nbounce back quicker than others into that region," Brown said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was the fourth most popular international
\ndestination for Australian tourists in the June quarter, behind
\nNew Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S., according to the Australian
\nBureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n
"I believe the Bali offerings will be heavily discounted.
\nThere will be a lot of cheap holidays to Bali and the market will
\ndecide if that is enough to encourage them in the short term," he
\nadded.<\/p>",
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