PATA promises to battle SARS, travel warnings

PATA promises to battle SARS, travel warnings

Rita A. Widiadana and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

The three-day Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
conference here concluded on Wednesday afternoon with a pledge to
jointly combat the fallout of terrorism and the spread of SARS.

Terrorist attacks, diseases, natural disasters and other
calamities know no boundaries, and therefore, governments should
not readily issue travel advisories against visiting countries
hit by terrorist attacks and diseases such as Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), said PATA chairman Richard Gordon.

"It could happen anywhere. The most important thing is how we
anticipate and are prepared to face it. PATA is now ready to help
any of its member countries which are affected by SARS disease,
for instance," Gordon said.

Governments issuing travel advisories should also look into
the reality in the field, and not maintain such advisories for a
long time.

"Bali, for instance, has just experienced a terrorist attack,
but I feel safe here and everybody attending the conference felt
happy and secure because the Indonesian government has done a
good job in following the security requirements," said Gordon.

Despite travel warnings against visiting Indonesia and the
spread of SARS, the PATA conference ran smoothly with more than
900 participants from 42 countries showing up on the resort
island, still struggling from the impacts of the Oct. 12, 2002
bombing.

The conference here focused on how to deal with the effects of
unpredictable events like war, terror attacks and SARS.

SARS, partly spread by travelers, has infected 3,400 people
and killed about 160 people in more than 20 countries after first
showing up in southern China in November.

"The war in Iraq and the spread of SARS have certainly had a
serious impact on travel industries in the region, but we are
gathering in Bali to try to solve the problem together," PATA
president and chief executive officer Peter de Jong said.

PATA, he said, would be doing a lot more to save the tourist
industry in the region.

This includes "much more assertive messaging, taking a
consensus opinion of the region vis-a-vis issues that affect the
travel industry and getting out there, and really, really making
a noise about it."

De Jong also said that the organization would publish a
handbook on crisis management -- including war and health crises
-- to educate members how to handle future crises.

The handbook material will be based on the discussions held
during the three-day conference.

Another important point revealed during the conference is the
paradigm shift in the region's tourist industry.

Ian Lancaster, chairman of MDK Consultant Group of Australia,
explained tourism was now seen as a cross border issue.

"The Bali bombing incident, for example, did not only affect
Bali and its tourism but also changed people's traveling habits.
Australians are now afraid to travel to the island, but Europeans
now see Indonesia and Bali not in isolation but as a wider part
of Asia," he said.

The PATA conference in Bali appointed South Korea's resort
Jeju Island as the host of next year's PATA conference. PATA also
invited new-born state East Timor to be a member of the
organization.