APEC to endorse plan on reviving tourism

APEC to endorse plan on reviving tourism

Vijay Joshi, Associated Press, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Trade ministers of Asia-Pacific countries meet this week to sign
off on an emergency plan to revive the region's tourism industry
and other businesses that have been hard hit by the outbreak of
SARS.

Ministers from the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum will also discuss ways to pay for increased security
in shipping and air travel because of terrorism fears.

Economic growth rates across Asia have dropped because of the
disease -- Hong Kong by 1.8 percent, Singapore by 1.1, Taiwan by
0.9 and China by 0.2 -- according to the Asian Development Bank.

Fears of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have even
affected countries that have not had major outbreaks. In
Thailand, for example, tourism arrivals have dropped by 40
percent and some businesses are warning they face bankruptcy.

Ministers will endorse the "APEC Action Plan on SARS," said C.
Lawrence Greenwood, U.S. Ambassador to APEC.

"We want to make sure we get the travel, the tourism going as
soon as possible," he said. The plan focuses on "how to make sure
health screening is effective but promotes the movement of
people."

"It's also an outreach to business, to make sure companies
have travel policies that are consistent with that," Greenwood
told The Associated Press.

The ministerial meeting, a culmination of weeklong talks
between senior officials, will be held on Monday and Tuesday in
the northeastern Thai town of Khon Kaen.

"We will talk about the impact of SARS to trade and how the
members will cooperate to reduce it," Thai Commerce Minister
Adisai Bodharamik said.

The impact SARS has had on tourism arrivals to Thailand has
ruined the country's expectations that hosting a series of APEC
meetings in preparation for the APEC summit in October in Bangkok
would help promote its tourism industry.

Since it first emerged last November in China, SARS has killed
more than 760 people globally and sickened more than 8,300.

Last year, APEC leaders agreed to a package of measures
designed to strengthen security in international trade and
travel.

But Adisai said the high costs of new screening equipment may
deter some countries from having it installed by 2005, the agreed
date.

APEC, set up in 1989, consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada,
Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines,
Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and
Vietnam.

With a combined population of more than 2.5 billion, APEC
generates gross domestic product of US$19 trillion, or 47 percent
of international commerce.