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.