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BUYERS
of Asean travel and tourism products and services
continue to drop, but organizers remain hopeful for next
year’s tourism forum and travel exchange by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“Even
Myanmar is participating,” Prakit Piriyakiet, Tourism
Authority (TAT) of Thailand executive director for the
Asean, told BusinessMirror, adding that the political
ills gripping that country hasn’t dissuaded it from
joining the 2008 Asean Tourism Forum (ATF).
The ATF
gathers suppliers and buyers of products and services
that ensure and promote tourist traffic among and within
the Asean region.
However,
Piriyakiet’s presentation last week before two dozen
hotels and resorts business executives showed that the
number of buyers participating in the ATF since 2005 has
been dropping.
From a
high of 377 buyers three years ago, the number of buyers
dipped to 365 in the 2006 ATF held in Davao,
Philippines, to 340 this year.
Buyers
include travel wholesalers, retailers, agents,
convention and incentive organizers, and other
establishments dealing in outbound tourist traffic.
TAT
Philippine executive Dave de Jesus explained the dip in
the number this year was because
Singapore
is expensive compared with Thailand, which is hosting
the ATF for the fifth time.
Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and six other
countries compose the Asean, a loose grouping of Asian
economies worth $1.066 trillion.
Dr.
Piriyakiet remains optimistic there would a reversal of
the three-year decline. He claims some 250 buyers from
all parts of the world have already confirmed
participation to the 2008 ATF.
“Compared with the period last year, we have doubled the
number of buyers that confirmed,” Piriyakiet said after
his presentation.
“The
trend for tourism, especially for
Asia, shows a high potential for growth than before,” he added.
Piriyakiet added the ATF comes at a time when the
region shrugs off the “limiting factors to tourism.”
Within
the decade, tourism in the region limped on a slew of
health issues, like SARS and bird flu, as well as
questions on security when some traditional destinations
became targets of terrorist attacks.
In the
past five years beginning 2001, tourist arrivals in
Asean has posted steady growth, except for 2003 when the
number hit negative 12.3, mainly due to concerns on the
severity of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
As of
March 14, 2007, Asean statistics note the number of
tourists that went to the ten countries from 2001 to
2006 has hit 273.04 million.
Based on
Piriyakiet’s presentation, the number of buyers from
Asia dipped to 134 this year from a high of
181 in 2006 and from
169 in
2005. Buyers from America also dropped to 31 this year
after climbing from 26 in 2005 to 35 in last year’s ATF.
Hence,
despite an increase in buyers from Europe to 136 this
year from 123 in 2005, from the Middle East (14 in 2006
to 18 this year), Oceania (from 11 last year to 17 this
year) and South Africa (one to four this year), the
number has tapered off.
Piriyakiet said they expect the ratio between buyer and
seller to be one-is-to-one in next year’s ATF. He added
that is why they flew in to Manila to encourage more
sellers, since only 13 from the
Philippines
have registered.
“We’re
expecting at least seven more,” Piriyakiet said. He
bared that as of October, Indonesia leads the number of
confirmed sellers at 50, followed by 40 from Malaysia
and 30 from Singapore. |
