New Slump Predicted for Regional Tourism Industry After Bali Blast

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 15, 2002

New Slump Predicted for Regional Tourism Industry After Bali Blast

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The Asia-Pacific travel and tourism industry was shocked by the devastating bomb blasts in Bali over the weekend and experts predicted the industry would suffer wide-ranging impact of the tragedy, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) was the first to respond, as its senior management executives and a number of board members was having dinner at a restaurant just a few hundred meters away when the blast occurred.

Pata President and Chief Executive Peter de Jong condemned that to strike at innocent civilians, many of them young people, is a barbaric act of cowardice which defies the morality of all civilized people.

He said that the blast would put a real dampener on the travel and tourism worldwide. However, he said, Pata had not decided to cancel two events pending in Indonesia: a Sustainable Tourism Conference to be held in Banten, Western Java, between Oct. 23 and26 and the 52nd annual conference in Bali between April 13 and 17 next year.

Pata, in coordination with the International Air Transport Association (Iata) and other partner organizations, was ready to set up a crisis task force to help the country address the major challenges which its tourism industry was likely to face in the weeks and months ahead, he said.

Meanwhile, a Tourism Authority of Thailand spokesman denied that the incident would lead to any spillover for Thailand, but said that the attack in Bali is a horrendous, despicable attack that is bad for the tourism industry worldwide. It will exacerbate the current downturn the global industry is already experiencing, he noted.

Ajva Taulananda, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the attacks would increase anxiety among tourists about traveling to the region. The incident may not benefit Thailand, though the country is still a safe tourist destination and far from Indonesia, he said.

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