Clive Freeman
BERLIN, Mar 10 2006 (IPS) – The mood at this year s 40th International Tourism Board travel fair, now at the halfway stage in Berlin, is remarkably buoyant despite avian bird flu scares and continuing terrorist threats in some parts of the world.
Of the more than 10,500 exhibitors from 181 countries at the show, most are predicting worldwide growth in 2006. A tourism boom is expected particularly in Spain, Greece, India, China, and some Middle East and Latin American countries.
While optimism prevails for the most part, the outlook is less positive for Turkey. Top European tour operators report a double-digit percentage drop in bookings, with operators blaming media coverage of the avian flu outbreak and other negative headlines for the slump.
Not surprisingly, Turkey s sales representatives have been looking somewhat glum in Berlin, with some holiday companies also blaming the football World Cup, which takes place in Germany from mid-June to mid July, for slow sales.
Klaus Laepple, president of the German Travel Agents Association, thinks the World Cup is not an issue. The world s top tourist nation cannot be stopped by the World Cup in Germany, he said at a press conference. Germans would go on holiday despite the football tournament, he said.
A big tourism winner in 2006 is likely to be India, which occupies an entire hall at the travel extravaganza.
Dilip Chauhan, director of the Jaipur-based company Asian Experience said India is marvelous value for money, and more and more people are beginning to recognise that.
There were some 3.9 million arrivals in India last year, and tourism officials expect a growth rate of over 15 percent to continue. While culture is a mainstay, it is the lure of the Himalayas, island tourism and adventure that are great new add-ons for us, he says.
A glossy tourism mall will be opened in the southern Indian city Hyderabad this year. Officials say it will highlight the city s position as a major gateway to all parts of the country.
Malaysia is another country playing its tourism potential to the full in Berlin, with an attractive double-storey stand. Its tourism bosses are planning major celebrations on the occasion of its 50th independence anniversary next year.
Malaysian tourism minister Datuk Kamaruddin is spearheading efforts to attract 20 million tourists in 2007. Malaysia is a safe place with friendly people, very much against violence and terrorism, he says.
Asia beaches boom again , a travel magazine cover declared. Mathew Tewes, German product manager of major tour operator TUI speaks of a swing in business to beach resorts in Thailand.
I was the first to predict business would not return so soon to Thailand after the tsunami, but I have been proven wrong, said Oliver Libutzki, a TUI contracting manager in Asia. Business is hitting the roof.
Thailand is appealing to international visitors to join its royal diamond jubilee celebrations this year, when festivities marking the Thai king s 60 years on the throne will be in full swing.
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Juthamas Siriwan says she is confident of receiving 13.3 million visitors this year. We have started 2006 with a double-digit increase in arrivals in January and February.
Thailand is diversifying its tourism products. This year a firm representing Bangkok s Bamrungrad International Hospital is at the travel fair. It believes the fair can serve as a platform from which to share our experience in medical tourism, says Ruben Toral, the hospital s marketing director.
The hospital said it handled 400,000 international patients last year from more than 150 countries.. Treatment offered ranges across check-ups, plastic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, cardiac procedures and cancer treatment.
The number of patients from the Middle East rose from 5,000 in 2000 to 70,000 in 2005, Toral said.
Indonesia meanwhile is battling against the negative reaction to terrorist attacks in Bali by sending a huge delegation to Berlin 400 participants compared with last year s 160. Business in Bali is now reportedly bouncing back.
All European markets are doing well for Bali, said Oliver Lubutzki. The only exception is the Nordic market, due to the cartoon controversy resulting in a warning on travel to Indonesia.
Hong Kong is again active at the Berlin Fair. Visitor arrivals from Germany alone reached 104,625 last year, 21 percent higher than in 2004.
Given that Hong Kong is the southern gateway of China, we anticipate there will be more commercial ties and travel between Hong Kong and Germany, resulting in continuous growth in travel demand, said Hans DeHann, the Lufthansa general manager for Southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
Vietnam, too, is at the Berlin fair strongly. It has launched a 2006-10 action programme aimed at attracting six million international arrivals by 2010.
Some 3.4 million people visited Vietnam last year. In 2006, its target is to increase that figure to 3.8 million.
