RI opens ASEAN-Japan tourism meeting

RI opens ASEAN-Japan tourism meeting

Agence France-Presse
Nusa Dua, Bali

The government on Wednesday opened a two-day special meeting
attended by senior officials from the region and Japan to work
out ways to restore regional tourism following the Bali bomb
blast in October.

"We can never predict a possible attack, we are all potential
targets of that (threat)," said Minister of Culture and Tourism I
Gede Ardika, while opening the meeting on the once popular resort
island.

The meeting was being attended by senior tourism officials
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), except
for Laos, and from Japan.

Representatives from China and South Korea were scheduled to
attend but did not show up.

The ministry said in a statement the meeting was held
following the Bali bombing "to take concrete steps" through ASEAN
plus Three, an annual forum grouping ASEAN's 10 members with
China, Japan and South Korea.

It said the meeting was expected to make recommendations to
identify the multidimensional impact and decide on the strategic
steps to restore tourism in Indonesia and in the ASEAN region.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Conference sources said one recommendation to be discussed was
the establishment of an information network between participating
countries.

The Bali bombing in the Kuta tourist district on Oct. 12
killed more than 190 people, mostly foreign tourists.

It sparked a plunge in tourist arrivals in Bali, Indonesia's
main international tourist destination, as well as to other
Indonesian tourist centers.