Political violence has done considerable damage to tourism in Asia andthe Pacific over the past few years. But industry experts say thedamage is not necessarily permanent. Governments and industry leaders say much can be done to rebuildtattered tourism reputations.
An Indian soldier takes cover as the Taj Mahal hotel burns during gun battle between Indian military and militants inside the hotel in MumbaiAs the world watched, a smallband of terrorists killed scores in Mumbai last November. AlthoughIndia has often suffered from political violence, this attack - aimedlargely at travelers and foreigners - was a new horror.
Theglobally televised attack, coming during an international economicslump, contributed to an eight percent fall in tourist arrivals thisyear.
In Thailand, tens of thousands of anti-governmentprotesters laid siege to Bangkok's airports late last year, essentiallytrapping more than 350,000 travelers in the country for a week. Beforethat shock had worn off, a few months later, another group ofprotesters led violent riots in Bangkok.
The two incidentsadded to the damage from the world economy cut tourist arrivals toThailand by 20 percent in the first six months of 2009.
PhornsiriManoharn, the chairwoman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association,says many tourists still worry that Thailand's political tensions couldspoil their visits.
"When people saw any demonstration likethat they associate with the closing of the airport," said Manoharn."Even we don't close but they look like thedemonstration, that they might and that's why they're afraid."
Tourismis important to the Asia-Pacific region. In Southeast Asia, itcontributes over three percent to economic output. In some parts of theregion, tourism accounts for 10 percent of employment; in the Pacificisland nations of Fiji and Vanuatu, the figure is over 30 percent.
But as India and Thailand have seen, violence and instability quickly scare away visitors.
Recovery comes, but usually more slowly than after natural disasters.
John Koldowski is PATA's communications director.
"Whatwe have seen in many cases is where there is some sort of interventioneffect - it's been natural or no fault of anybody - the rebound hasbeen very quick," he said. "Where there has been intent to cause harmas in the case of a say terrorist attack - and where there has been along history of such attacks occurring in that destination or nearbydestination, it takes a little longer to come back."
But withthe right government and industry responses, visitors will return. Forinstance, in October 2002, bombs set off by Islamic militants on theisland of Bali killed more than 200 people, most of them foreigners.The island, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations, sawarrivals fall by 36 percent in 2003.
Koldowski said the first bombings shocked the tourism industry.
"Baliis a classic case there - it took some time because it hadnever occurred there before - it was so dramatic and affected specificwestern tourists," he said.
But the Indonesian governmentcracked down on terrorists and boosted security. And tourism industryprofessionals worked hard to woo back visitors. When another attackthree years later left 20 people dead, PATA reported that touristarrivals were little affected.
And twin bombings at international hotels in Jakarta last July are expected to do little damage to tourism.
In South Asia, Sri Lanka and Nepal hope the end of long-running conflicts will entice more visitors.
SriLankan officials say the end of a civil war earlier this year brought asurge of interest from foreign investors and hotel operators.
DileepMudadeniya, Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau managing director, saysthere are opportunities for tourism, particularly in areas long closedoff by the war.
"North and east, which have not actually takenany kind of development for the last 20 years, virgin beaches, land,monuments is available and the people also come and exploit somethingor look at something totally undiscovered," said Mudadeniya. "We aregoing on the line which is 'undiscovered, unspoiled, an island ofauthenticity', which we can offer."
In Nepal, political agreements have ended a Maoist insurgency that lasted more than a decade.
Sharatsingh Bhandari
Theminister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sharatsingh Bhandari, saysNepal's transition from conflict to peace is in itself a tourism draw.
"Nowwe are going to form a new Nepal. So giving the message for the NewNepal and inviting the people to see, not only the prospect of tourismitself but even the process of transition of the political system from'bullet to ballot.' That was done successfully by the Nepalesethemselves," he said.
Industry analysts say tourism in Asia islikely to expand rapidly over the next few years. But, the key, theysay, is that governments find ways to prevent political violence, andact quickly to calm fears when it does happen.
