Fear of flying grips U.S., Japan but Europeans shrug

Fear of flying grips U.S., Japan but Europeans shrug

Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, London

World tourism lies crippled by fear of flying after the Sept. 11 kamikaze attacks in the United States, with Americans and Japanese leading the rush to take cover but Europeans gradually recovering their sang-froid.

From Peking to Jakarta, hotels and tour operators are struggling to stay afloat under a flood of cancellations following the mesmerizing destruction on live television of New York's iconic World Trade Center.

Only in Europe are there signs of a slight recovery after a dramatic slump in the wake of the attacks, with ski resorts reporting a jump in business.

The United States declared war on terrorism and has been bombing Afghanistan for nearly a month in the hunt for the Saudi- born Muslim extremist Osama bin Laden, who it holds responsible for the September attacks and several others.

The Japan National Tourist Organization said the number of Japanese tourists headed overseas was down 21.5 percent in September from a year earlier.

"The psychological effect will linger for two to three months," an official said, adding that the number for the entire year would probably show the first annual decline in three years.

Tour operator China International Travel Service (CITS) had more than 3,000 cancellations from the U.S. market alone, said a CITS executive who declined to be identified.

The cancellation rate of Japanese tour groups was also high, at around 50 percent, he said.

"With government travel warnings thrown out by the U.S. and European governments on an almost daily basis, and this anthrax scare popping up everywhere, we can see a straight downward trend in consumer confidence," he said.

Even golden beaches and waving palm trees in paradise destinations such as Indonesia's Lombok and Bali seem to have lost their allure for the not-so-intrepid tourist, frightened to visit the world's largest Muslim nation.

"Many overseas bookings were canceled because of it. Even though most who come here are not Americans but Japanese...our rooms are still empty. Other hotels suffer the same thing," said Ni Made Puspadi at the Nikko Bali Hotel.

The Singapore government has pledged to pump more than S$7 million into its struggling tourism sector to offset the slump.

"There is no sector left untouched -- from airlines to attractions and hotels to travel agencies," Tourism Board chairman Edmund Cheng said, adding he expected total visitor arrivals for the whole year to drop by up to five percent.

Vietnam, which had been basking in a bumper year until, like its neighbors, it saw a sudden bin Laden-triggered slump, is hoping to offset the effects by taking the potentially risky step of marketing itself as a safe haven.

"There are people who are just afraid of taking the plane. But I'm sure that will get back to normal quickly," said Marie Giuge, marketing director for Victoria Hotels and Resorts.

Back across the world, the Association of British Travel Agents said the phlegmatic British, who had initially run for cover, were starting to shrug their shoulders and resume their travel plans -- although overall bookings were still well down.

"Short haul is quite popular. Skiing is up on last year. Long haul destinations like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand are performing okay," said spokeswoman Frances Tuke.

Robin Zimmermann, a spokesman for German package tours operator TUI, said business was picking up and few Germans, who are known around the world for their wanderlust, were opting to stay at home instead of heading for warmer climes.

"There was naturally a decrease following the attacks, but we've seen it get clearly better week by week," he said.

European sunshine destinations such as Italy, Spain and Greece all reported a sharp drop in non-European flight bookings, as did Paris.

But intra-European business was showing signs of picking up, with abnormally balmy autumn weather combined with fatalism.

South Africa also reported a sharp drop in bookings -- particularly among its own citizens.

But fear of flying was considered an equal factor with the sharp drop in the value of the rand, which has slid steadily in the past three years and by more than 10 percent against the dollar since Sept. 11 alone.