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.