Asian Tourism Expected to Bounce Back This Year

June 16, 2003

Asian Tourism Expected to Bounce Back This Year
Tourism in Asia is expected to recover from the affects of SARS, the war with Iraq, and last year’s bombings in Bali, by the end of 2003. This news comes according to the world tourism body (WTO) today.

"We expect the second part of the year to be positive and tourism will be back on track in the fourth quarter," said World Tourism Organization Secretary General Francesco Frangialli.

Tourists’ fears of catching SARS caused a 30 to 40 percent drop in reservations in the Asian region this year, damaging even countries that reported no cases of local transmission of SARS. The good news, however, is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease to be on the mend.

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