PATA against European ruling that allows travel agent suits

By I. Christianto

SEOUL (JP): The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is opposing the European Union's (EU) plan to issue a ruling that will allow European tourists to sue travel operators that violate their promises on tour packages, a senior official says.

Indonesian Director General of Tourism Andi Mappi Sammeng, who is attending the PATA's 43rd annual conference here, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that PATA members will look for a common stance before asking the EU to revise its plan to introduce the ruling, which is originally expected for implementation in early 1996.

According to the planned ruling, the EU will encourage its travelers to sue tour operators which fail to live up to the promises printed in their brochures or other publications. Operators sued by travelers will in turn file their suits against hoteliers, restaurants or any other businesses related to the tour package offered by the operators.

Adnan Karamoy, a member of the Indonesian delegation to the conference, commented that the EU's plan is unfair because many EU tour operators have often cheated travelers from Indonesia and other Asian countries, who could not make any claims against them.

"We will soon organize a meeting to discuss measures that the PATA can take against the EU's plan," said Karamoy, who is also a vice chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Campaign

Meanwhile, Indonesian Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who is also the PATA's chairman- elect, told reporters yesterday that Indonesia is launching an aggressive campaign to attract foreign tourists.

Indonesia, which has launched a "Visit Indonesia Decade" campaign. The minister said that as part of the plan, there will be commercials on various international television channels, such as CNN and Star TV, in July. These will be designed to intensify the marketing and diversification of tourist products.

To anticipate the increasing number of tourists visiting Indonesia in the coming years, the country is expanding a number of its airports, he added.

The government projects that tourist arrivals are expected to increase steadily from the 3.4 million mark last year to 6.5 million in the last year of the newly begun Sixth, Five Year Development Plan (Repelita VI.)

Joop said Indonesia's plan to host a world conference of ministers of transportation in the near future is also expected to help promote its tourism.

The conference will discuss an expected boom in the world tourism industry, and the necessary improvements in security and safety, he said.

According to the World Tourism Organization, the number of international tourist arrivals increased by 3.8 percent to 500 million last year.

Seoul's PATA conference is scheduled to conclude today with the appointment of Minister Joop as the association's new chairman to replace Roland Cobbold.