'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.