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.