ASEAN declares haze over, urges tourists to return
ASEAN declares haze over, urges tourists to return
SINGAPORE (AFP): The smoky haze that affected Southeast Asia
for months is over, a joint statement from ASEAN members said
Thursday, urging tourists to return to a region now basking in
"blue skies and brilliant sunshine".
"We are pleased to announce that Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are totally clear of the
smoke haze that has been affecting parts of Southeast Asia for
the past few months," a statement issued by the ASEAN National
Tourism Organizations said.
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups
Brunei, Burma, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam were
spared from the environmental catastrophe.
The haze from bush fires in Indonesian provinces started to
choke parts of the region in August generating air pollution,
reduced visibility, an outbreak of respiratory diseases, and
driving thousands of foreign tourists away.
"It is safe for visitors to travel to the region now and enjoy
blue skies and brilliant sunshine," the statement said.
It said Indonesian officials advised that "all fires in the
Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan have been
extinguished and that all airports have been fully operational
since Nov. 17," the statement said.
Regional weather experts last week declared the haze over,
with the onset of the northeast monsoon season and accompanying
rains and winds as well as the effective control of the fires.
For the past three weeks, it has been raining in all Indonesia
provinces including those that were temporarily affected by the
smoke haze, the ASEAN statement said.
Tourism departments "have launched a series of post-haze
initiatives to stimulate arrivals to Southeast Asia," it said,
without elaborating.
Resorts in Malaysia and Indonesia have announced discounts on
room rates to attract tourists, who kept away from the region.
Singapore disclosed last week that tourist arrivals in the
island -- the main aviation hub in Southeast Asia -- dropped 17.6
percent in October from a year ago after travelers were scared
off by haze or discouraged by Asia's economic turmoil.
Media reports said the drop in October arrivals to 495,327 was
the first year-on-year decline in 14 years, and that a recovery
was not expected anytime in the near future.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) criticized "negative
coverage of the smoke pollution by international media" for
scaring tourists away.
The fires on Sumatra island and Kalimantan, the Indonesian
part of Borneo island ravaged almost one million hectares (2.5
million acres) of forest and grass lands, according to some
estimates.
Many of the fires were started deliberately by Indonesian
plantation owners and farmers to clear land for cultivation.
Firefighters from various countries took part in the effort to
extinguish the fires.
Poor visibility caused by the haze was partly blamed for the
crash of a Garuda Airlines jetliner in Sumatra which left 234
people dead in late September.