ASEAN countries seek to woo back tourists

ASEAN countries seek to woo back tourists

Sean Yoong, Associated Press/Kuala Lumpur

Southeast Asian governments urged foreigners on Monday not to
scrap vacation plans over tsunami concerns, saying the region is
taking steps to ensure that its resort islands and beaches are
safe.

Tourism ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations began a two-day meeting on Malaysia's Langkawi
island on how to revive their industry from its latest setback,
which followed earlier scares due to SARS, terrorism and avian
influenza.

Many foreign tourists died when the Dec. 26 tsunami swept
coastlines in Asia and Africa, killing between 162,000 and
228,000 people in 11 countries.

"There's a feeling of grief and sadness and fear among
tourists right now, but our assurance is we're taking steps to
make our beaches safer, like creating a tsunami early warning
system," Malaysian Tourism Minister Leo Michael Toyad told
reporters.

ASEAN members will cooperate to promote their region as "one
big tourism destination," inviting international travel writers
to attractive destinations and sending video clips overseas to
lure potential visitors, Toyad said.

Indonesian Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said his country
expects six million visitors this year, up from 5.3 million in
2004.

"The tsunami hit only one part of our area but the rest of
Indonesia is still very big and very safe and very nice to
visit," Wacik said. "Jakarta is safe, Bali is safe. That is why
we are optimistic for 2005."

Tourism is a big money-earner for Southeast Asia. It generated
US$27.7 billion in 2002 for ASEAN - excluding Brunei - or 4.8
percent of its gross domestic product.

Before the tsunami, the ASEAN Tourism Association expected
nearly 50 million tourists to visit this year, with the number
projected to rise to 56 million in 2006.

Khirk-Krai Jirapaet, Thailand's deputy tourism minister, said
he was optimistic that this week's conference would help limit
the fallout from the Dec. 26 tsunami.

The ministers also planned to meet with senior tourism
officials from China, Japan and South Korea on Tuesday to discuss
ways of speeding the development of regional tourism.

The meetings are being held on the sidelines of a tourism
conference with about 1,700 delegates from 55 countries, mainly
representing tourism organizations, airline companies, travel
agents and hoteliers hoping to lure travelers with new offers and
bargains.