Asian tourism could rebound soon

Asian tourism could rebound soon

Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press, Manila

The world tourism body said Monday it expects tourism in Asia
to bounce back by the end of the year despite being battered by
SARS fears, the Iraq war and last year's Bali bombings.

"We expect the second part of the year to be positive and
tourism will be back on track in the fourth quarter," World
Tourism Organization Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said
in an interview. He was in Manila to attend a five-day WTO
meeting of more than 100 delegates and tourism officials from at
least 18 countries in the region.

Fears of catching severe acute respiratory syndrome during
travel caused a 30 percent to 40 percent drop in reservations in
the region this year, compared with last year, even damaging
tourism industries in countries in the region that had no cases
of local transmission.

But Frangialli noted that the World Health Organization has
declared the disease on the wane.

He said Asia's tourism started to recover after the end of the
Iraq war, but that the rebound was delayed by the SARS outbreak.
"But the recovery will be taking place before the end of the
year. This is for sure," Frangialli said.

Asia saw an 8.3 percent jump in tourist arrivals last year
compared with 2001, despite the continuing effects of the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks; last October's bombings on Bali that killed
202 people; and the region's lackluster economic performance,
Frangialli said.

He declined to provide figures on the tourism recovery, citing
a lack of data. One of the objectives of the WTO conference is to
come up with a set of indicators to measure the economic impact
of tourism.

Frangialli said the indicators would allow officials to assess
the crisis suffered by the industry over the past two years, make
good forecasts and see how tourism can help create jobs and
contribute to economies.

In May, the International Air Transport Association said it
expects a loss of US$10 billion this year due to SARS, the
lingering effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.

The U.N.-affiliated WTO has 141 member states and seven
territories as associate members. Its headquarters is in Madrid,
Spain.