SE Asia fights against tourism slump

SE Asia fights against tourism slump

Eileen Ng, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Southeast Asia's tourism industry, a pillar of regional
economies, is undergoing its worst crisis in years following the
bloody terrorist attack on its most famous beach paradise Bali.

The Oct. 12 blast on Indonesia's "Island of the Gods," which
killed more than 190 people, dealt a blow to the multi-billion-
dollar tourism sector just as it was rebounding from the
aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
who will hold their annual summit in Phnom Penh next week, will
seek to restore confidence by forging stiffer anti-terrorism
measures and sealing a tourism pact to woo travelers back to the
region.

According to a draft obtained by AFP, the ASEAN Tourism
Agreement spells out plans to harmonize visa issuance to
foreigners and to gradually reduce all travel barriers to
facilitate travel into the region.

The 10-member grouping aims to promote ASEAN as a single
tourism destination in the international market, launch joint
marketing programs and introduce "thematic" tour packages to
specific areas of interest.

But the core theme of the pact is to boost intra-regional
movement by phasing out travel taxes and extending visa
exemptions to ASEAN's 500 million citizens.

It aims to establish an integrated network of tourism and
travel services, and beef up security by increasing cooperation
among law enforcement agencies.

The agreement pledges to progressively liberalize air
services, encourage commercial arrangements among ASEAN airlines
and promote cruising, travel by ferries and leisure boats.

The draft document was prepared before the Bali blast.

Malaysian Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said the
decision to deepen tourism cooperation was made two years ago but
the Bali tragedy had given it more urgency.

The region's tourism industry last faced multiple problems in
1997 and 1998, when smoke from Indonesian forest fires turned
skies in the region gray and ASEAN economies were rocked by
currency turmoil.

"Bali is just one thing but there will be other things -- the
haze, economic recession which is even worse especially in
countries which are our leading tourism targets. We must be quick
to make changes," he said.

The region has been hit by mass cancellations after the Bali
attack, with many countries including Australia and Britain
warning their citizens of heightened risk alerts in most ASEAN
countries.

Even predominantly Buddhist Thailand, which has a reputation
as a safe haven, was not spared as its resort island of Phuket
has been identified by Britain, Australia, Japan and others as a
possible terrorist target.

The Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) says
it is premature to conclude that tourists are writing off the
region entirely.

"People are adopting a let's wait-and-see attitude. Everything
is hanging on the thread," John Koldowski, PATA Strategic
Intelligence Center's managing director, told AFP.

"Nobody knows when and where the next big thing is going to
happen, be it another terrorist attack or an economic slowdown or
a natural catastrophe.

"But I think people are becoming more aware that no matter
where you are, the fingers of terrorism can reach you."

Koldowski said it was the right move for ASEAN to turn inward
to revive the industry but it must not compromise national
security in its rush to facilitate movement within the region.

According to PATA statistics, 41 million tourists visited
ASEAN last year, representing half the total visitors to Asia,
with intra-regional travelers accounting for 38 percent of the
traffic.

Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia were among the top
10 destinations in Asia-Pacific but the Bali blast and a looming
U.S.-Iraq war are bound to hurt their medium-term prospects,
officials say.

But some ASEAN members are fighting back.

Indonesia, which has armed itself with sweeping powers
including the death penalty to fight terrorism, is pressing ahead
with plans to launch EcoTourism Year 2002.

Malaysia launched two tourism funds totaling 600 million
ringgit (US$158 million) to develop the industry and plans to set
up a theme park with Hollywood giant Universal Studios.

Vietnam plans to turn an area around Cam Ranh Bay, a former
U.S. military base, into a series of eco-friendly beach resorts.