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.