PATA to meet in Bali despite bomb blast

PATA to meet in Bali despite bomb blast

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the tragic bomb blast in Bali over the weekend, which
killed more than 180 people, the Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA) will stick to its plans to hold conferences in both Bali
and Banten, West Java.

"PATA has planned two international events in Banten in
October 2002 and Bali in April 2003," Peter de Jong, PATA's
president and CEO said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara.

The Banten conference is titled "Sustainable Tourism
Conference", while the Bali conference is "The 52nd PATA Annual
Conference".

Peter, who just visited Bali to see the aftermath of the Bali
bombing, said it was a barbaric act and the perpetrators should
be quickly brought into justice.

He said PATA's vice president, Peter Semone, was now in Bali
to hold meetings with Indonesian tourism associations on possible
help from the organization to minimize the damage to the sector,
which accounts for nearly 80 percent of the economy on the
island.

"The bomb tragedy in Bali should not prevent us from doing
business and daily activities," he said.

PATA will also coordinate with the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) and other international tourist organizations
to set up crisis centers in a bid to rebuild tourism in
Indonesia. It will also intensively watch developments in
Indonesia and report it to other PATA members.