'Asian tourism will rebound from Bali bombing, terror fears'

'Asian tourism will rebound from Bali bombing, terror fears'

Mynardo Macaraig, Agence France-Press, Manila

Senior tourism officials said here Friday they remain
confident of an Asian tourism recovery in the wake of the Bali
bomb attack and continuing fears of other terrorist actions in
the region.

But they said at an international conference here that
countries must work together to check further terror attacks and
to assure the public that it is still safe to visit these
countries.

Dawis de Valliers, secretary-general of the World Tourism
Organization, said that the bomb attacks in the Indonesian resort
island of Bali was a "direct blow," to tourism in Asia.

"The attack could affect other destinations in Asia -- the
only region in the world that has maintained strong, albeit
uneven growth (in tourism) during this difficult period," de
Valliers said.

But he said "the underlying situation in the Asian region is
still very positive," boosted by growing intra-Asian tourism,
particularly from China where seven million people traveled
overseas in the first half of 2002.

He told the International Conference on Anti-Terrorism and
Tourism Recovery that he was "optimistic that the present
difficulties will not affect the positive long term growth of
tourism in the region."

Udin Saiffudin, Indonesia's senior adviser on tourism, said
that due to the Bali blasts, his country had suffered as much as
a 40 percent drop in tourism arrivals this year.

Jakarta has downgraded its original tourism income forecast
from an estimated US$5.4 billion to only $3.2 billion this year,
he added.

To repair Indonesia's battered image, tourism officials will
spend the rest of this year in humanitarian activities and other
measures to show the government's concern, Saiffudin said.

But 2003 would be dedicated to rehabilitation and
normalization of the country's image through quality improvement,
more active marketing and regional cooperation.

By 2004, Indonesia is even planning to expand its tourism
market from previous levels, he told the conference.

The officials conceded their job was made harder by travel
advisories issued by the United States and other key foreign
tourist markets in the wake of the Bali blasts, warning their
nationals of threats in traveling to Southeast Asia.

At their annual summit in Cambodia this month, leaders of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) complained about
the US travel advisories which they said painted their countries
as unsafe.

"It tends to whet the appetite of the terrorists. It makes it
appear that he's winning," said Philippine Tourism Secretary
Richard Gordon.

Das Valliers said developed countries should be more precise
by listing specific areas as dangerous instead of entire
countries.

But he added: Tourists don't really notice the travel
advisories that much. They are more affected by news ... media
coverage, television, photos, stories."

Gordon expressed gratitude that China had not issued a travel
advisory on the Philippines and other countries in the region.

Delegates were drafting a proposed resolution that would call
on countries in the region to foster more cooperation among
airlines, hotels, resorts, travel agencies and tour operators in
marketing transnational tour packages.

At the same time, the region was urged to boost efficient and
safe travel between them and reduce barriers to travel.

Gordon stressed that other Asian countries had not tried to
capitalize on Indonesia's woes from the Bali blasts.

"What's good for Bali is good for tourism," he said.