Tourism bosses in crisis talks

By Jill McGivering BBC world affairs analyst

Bali's tourism industry was devastated after the bomb

A three-day travel and tourism summit has opened in Portugal to address the crisis facing the industry.

The attacks in the US on September 11 and the global threat of terrorism caused a sharp downturn in growth.

Most recently the Sars crisis is testing the crisis management plans of Asia Pacific countries relying on tourism as a key engine of growth as they recover from the financial crisis of the late 1990s.

The travel business is far from recovery - but the crisis has forced new approaches, already showing results.

It has led to greater co-ordination - such as the setting up of the international "tourism recovery committee" - and a sudden urgent focus on crisis management.

Bottoming out?

Last year growth worldwide clawed its way back to more than 3% - better than many had feared.

But tests keep coming. The Bali bombing last year devastated the island's tourism.

But the Indonesian government's active response is now hailed as a positive case study by those in the trade.

So much so, the damage could already be starting to bottom out.

The Sars crisis is just as acute. Latest figures from Singapore show arrivals down 75%.

Contrast

But Singapore is also following the new crisis management strategy, from aggressive moves to contain the virus to a constant flow of updated information.

Government cash support through discounted tickets, special promotions and PR are only any use, it is argued, once a crisis is over and confidence restored.

Singapore's approach makes a marked contrast with China, which denied the crisis for months and whose information is still failing to reassure.

The ultimate test will be whose industry recovers best and fastest.