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The World Tourism Organization (WTO) took important decisions on an action plan immediately following the attack in Bali…
The World Tourism Organization (
The World Tourism Organization, on Monday, 14 October, strongly condemned the recent attack in Kuta, located on Indonesia’s peaceful island of Bali, which is a favourite destination for many international tourists.
WTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli expressed his sympathy to the bereaved families and others affected by this atrocity in a letter to Indonesia’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, H.E. I. Gede Ardika. The attack may lead to a temporary slowdown in Indonesian tourism and travel, to Bali in particular. It is too soon, however, to know what will be the resulting effects on the industry. The WTO Market Intelligence department has already begun to implement a study on how the attacks will influence tourism trends in Bali, Indonesia, Asia and the world as a whole. The analysis is projected to be complete by the end of October and presented at the upcoming Recovery Committee meeting.
This WTO Committee, chaired by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism H. E. Dr. Mamdouh El Beltagui, is scheduled for the 12 November during the World Travel Market in London. The situation concerning Bali is now one of top priorities on its agenda. Amongst the attendees will also be representatives from Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Special advisor to the WTO Secretary-General for trade and services, Mr. Geoffrey Lipman, has attended a conference on sustainable tourism in Sydney, Australia and met with executive officials of the Australian Ministry responsible for tourism and leaders in the industry. In his speeches and meetings this week, he put a special emphasis on the threat of terrorist attacks on tourism and urged the Australian tourism representatives to join WTO in the efforts to minimize, and when possible, prevent negative impacts on the further growth of tourism.
Australia is not a WTO Member State, but an influential tourism power and whose citizens where the first to be affected by the recent Bali attack. Mr. Lipman is travelling to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on 24 October to meet with the Minister for Culture and Tourism, H.E. I. Gede Ardika and discuss possible ways the WTO can help Indonesian tourism and especially Bali. Following the Bali attack, this new crisis was added to the agenda of the Thirty-eighth meeting of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and WTO/APTEC Technical Seminar on Intra-regional Tourism in East Asia and the Pacific, which will be held in Nara, Japan, between 22 and 24 October. Attendees will attempt to evaluate the impacts of the attack and take the necessary actions to minimize the negative effects.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
