SE Asia tourism ministers meet, spotlight on image

SE Asia tourism ministers meet, spotlight on image

Agencies, Yogyakarta

Southeast Asian tourism ministers met here on Thursday as the region's image as a travel destination comes under scrutiny following the discovery of alleged Islamic terrorist networks.

Rodolfo Severino, secretary general of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the region was partly at the mercy of media coverage in its efforts to attract tourists with little knowledge of the countries that make up the grouping.

Following the recent arrests of Muslim militants in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines along with fears about radicals in Indonesia, ministers at the two-day meeting in the ancient royal capital of Yogyakarta in central Java are likely to discuss the image question.

"It depends on how the media portrays it," Severino told Reuters when asked before the meeting got underway on Thursday afternoon if recent events could tarnish Southeast Asia's tourism image in places like the United States and Europe.

"That's very critical because information like this for most people is available only in the media and probably from travel agencies and airlines and so on. So we're really almost at the mercy of these channels of communication," Severino said.

Tourism is vital for Southeast Asia, employing millions of people and providing precious foreign exchange. Officials have stressed their view that the region is safe for travel.

But foreign media coverage of possible Southeast Asian links to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden has gone into overdrive in the past few weeks, guaranteeing a constant supply of headlines that might make some tourists go elsewhere.

Severino said ministers would discuss progress on a current ASEAN tourism promotional campaign. Figures on arrivals to the region were not immediately available.

"I suppose they will address (the image issue) because there has been an impact particularly as a result of September 11, and with people's reluctance to fly and so on. But I think that this is a temporary phenomenon," he said, referring to the attacks last year on the United States that killed some 3,000 people.

Washington has blamed bin Laden for those strikes and launched a war against his network in response.

Singapore, long known as one of the world's safest tourist destinations, recently arrested Muslim radicals suspected of plotting attacks on U.S. interests in the island state.

Indonesia has not arrested any militants but its image took a hit following protests and threats by radical Islamic groups that coincided with the early U.S. bombing of Afghanistan last year.

There have been no confirmed attacks by militants on tourists in the world's most populous Muslim country, but travel agents in Yogyakarta complain the threats drove many away.

Yogyakarta is among Indonesia's top draws for foreign tourists after the resort island of Bali, boasting sites such as the nearby Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist monument.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri will join the ministers on Friday to open a travel trade fare that has brought together tourism outlets from across the region along with buyers of tour packages from some 40 countries.

ATF chairperson Wiendu Nuryanti said Thursday that Megawati would also plant some white banyan trees at the 14,800 square meter Yogyakarta Expo Center, the location of the four-day event.

The event, that is being covered by 200 local and foreign journalists, will be the first major ASEAN tourism event to be held in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, which has had an extremely negative impact on the tourism industry.

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