Asia primed for the fight to lure back wary visitors

Asia primed for the fight to lure back wary visitors

Asia News Network

With the battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
seemingly in control, Asia is abuzz with a new campaign to win
tourists back.

Setting aside regional rivalries, Asian countries are teaming
up to bring back travelers to enjoy the tourism bounty that
nations here have to offer.

With fares at all-time lows, never-heard off discounts across
the region and special festivals, hope rests anew that the
medical precautions and cleanliness drive will put minds at ease,
and, of course, continue to keep SARS at bay.

There's a general agreement that the task ahead is a daunting
one and may be best handled together.

Passenger booking data from Asia's largest air ticketing and
reservations company, Abacus International, shows that the
destinations most affected by SARS -- China, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam -- suffered a drop of 58 percent in
the first four months of this year, compared to the last.

Overall, the region's suffered a 20 percent drop in flight
bookings in the same period but with a 44 percent decline in the
month of April.

Taking the initiative, tourism industry giants, the Pacific
Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the International Air Travel
Association have joined hands to launch a six-figure sum campaign
to get people traveling again.

A total of 102 regional industry players including 27
airlines, 11 hotel chains and the national tourism organizations
of Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Taipei met
in Singapore last week (may 27), and details are being worked
out.

Ongoing national campaigns in Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Singapore will be knitted together while others will be launched.

"Asia's brand image has been damaged and we have to patch it
up," said Ken Scott, PATA managing director of communications.

While some have taken the bull by the horns in containing the
spread of the disease, others have been slow, he said.

The challenge, Scott believes, will be to put together a
global public relations campaign to ""get the right message
across".

This is the mantra sweeping across Asia, from Beijing to
Bangkok to Tokyo, as tourism officials and the industry pull out
all stops to lure the international traveler and the domestic
ones as well.

Countries are pulling together celebrities, advertising gurus,
anyone with brain power and charisma to both market Asia as a
SARS safe tourism spot and to coax even the locals to take a
break.

The government is offering soft-interest loans to the tourism
industry to cope, while aggressive belt tightening is underway to
cope with the hit to regional economies.

In China, the government has offered six billion yuan worth of
soft loans to those in the tourism industry to allow them to come
up with schemes to woo tourists. It has also promised to
temporarily waive off taxes and administrative fees.

Beijing will also be the site of a regional conference in July
to discuss the sharing of tourism resources.

As part of its belt tightening measures, the country's three
major domestic carriers Air China, China Eastern Airlines and
China Southern Airlines have decided to delay taking delivery of
new aircraft.

In the Philippines, Manila International Airport is offering a
50 percent discount on parking fees to foreign airlines and
between 10 percent to 15 percent on landing and departure fees
for a short period.

Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, a man known for his
boundless energy and the current chairman of PATA, is also eying
the World Tourism Organization's Crisis Management Summit in
Manila from June 16 to June 20 to sell his country.

One of the highlights of his pitch is a WOW Philippines
program, which describes the different experiences tourists can
encounter in the country (www.wowphilippines.com).

Thailand, which was a World Health Organization SARS-free
country but suffered a blow to its tourism nevertheless, is
promising a huge sum as financial compensation should a visitor
contract SARS.

Thai Airways International would pay US$100,000 to anyone who
catches SARS while flying with the airline.

This is part of a multi-million baht six-month promotional
campaign approved by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in mid-
May.

Thai Airways International has also teamed up with the Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Thai Hotels Association and Association of
Thai Travel Agents to lure tourists with the launch of special
price tour packages called "Thailand Smile Plus".

The three-month campaign, seeking to attract about 50,000 new
tourists, has hotels offering a free-stay night for every one
night paid for, as well as discounts of between 20 percent to 50
percent at golf courses, spas and resorts and a lucky draw.

Bangkok Airways, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Samui
Tourism Association are also working on a first-ever island
carnival in Asia in July.

Airline CEO Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth is hoping to convince
governments in the Indochina region to give a one-time visa for
all member country visits.

Malaysia has roped in Taiwanese pop idol Jay Chou, who
performed live in the country on May 17, to be the country's
latest tourism ambassador.

Tourism Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir
personally led a delegation to India to encourage Indians to
visit Malaysia in mid-May, while promotional campaigns in the
Middle East are also being stepped up.

Tourism Malaysia also plans to take part in some 20
international travel fairs over the next one month, including the
Arab Travel Trade Fair in Dubai, JATA Fair in Yokohama, World
Travel Mart in London and the International Travel Fair of China
in Kunming.

Within the country, state governments are organizing local
festivals to boost tourism.

The Tourism Board in Sarawak hopes to capitalize on the
upcoming Gawai Dayak festival to lure more visitors to the state.

In Singapore, which celebrated its removal from the WHO list
of SARS-affected countries with a S$20,000 bash at Boat Quay, the
draw currently is the Great Singapore Sale.

Singapore Airlines is offering competitive fares to popular
destinations, even as it tries to cope with its financial loss
because of both SARS and the Iraq war. Ministers and top civil
servants have settled for a 10 percent wage cut to help out the
country's coffers.

Even as the effort gets underway, countries in the region are
generally in agreement that it could take up to three months to
ensure regular tourism inflows.

For some nations, though the wait could be longer.

The Vietnam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT), for
instance, is yet to secure a VND10 billion assistance from the
government to finance a national campaign to win back foreign
visitors' confidence in Vietnam.

Amid the struggle, however, some countries such as Japan,
South Korea and India, find themselves somewhat better positioned
to market themselves, with hardly any incidence of SARS.

The South Korean government, for instance, is planning to
stage a wide range of international publicity campaigns,
including television advertisements, sending off promotional
delegations and hosting Korean folk festivals.

In New Delhi, the country's international airline Air India
and the national carrier Indian Airlines have teamed up to host
packages for every class of traveler, with tourism officials
keeping an eye out for conferences being shifted from other Asian
locations.

The battle has only just begun.