PATA against European ruling that allows travel agent suits

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.