Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has expressed optimism that the momentum of tourist arrivals in Malaysia was expected to stay till the end of the year.

This is despite last weekend's bomb blasts in Bali which is expected to hurt the tourism industry in Southeast Asia.

Kadir told reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysian Tour and Travel Association(MATTA) Fair in Kuala Lumpur on Friday that despite all that had happened, Malaysia was still considered a very safe place to visit.

A Kuala Lumpur hotelier shared the minister's optimism that the momentum of tourist arrivals will remain.

"Yes, this is basically correct," he said "unless there are a series of sudden cancellations."

Worried about attacks

Government and industry leaders in several Asean countries, especially Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, are worried about terrorist attacks occurring in other parts of this region.

If this can be prevented the perception of the region will improve in due course, they say.

Said another tour operator: "Abdul Kadir has done the right thing to ask local tour operators to help sell more Indonesian destinations. We should help each other at times like this."

The minister has earlier asked Malaysian tour agencies to help promote and sell more tourist destinations in Indonesia.

"Bombs scare people. It doesn't matter whether they are the world of terrorists or religious fanatics or separatists," the tour operator added.

"Although some people may pin them down to being only isolated incidents, the trouble is that in Indonesia there is also unrest in some provinces which is presenting a security problem."

"Generally, no tourist will venture into a security-risk area", he added.

The most optimistic tourism officials say the Bali incident will pass soon while others are not quite ready to say so, indicating that the 'unknown sources' of bomb threat appear to be 'frightening everyone of his wits.'

Temporary slowdown

Meanwhile, the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) said the Bali attack may lead to a temporary slowdown in Indonesian tourism and travel, to the holiday haven of Bali in particular.

It added, however, that it is too soon to know what will be the resulting effects on the industry.

The WTO market intelligence department has already begun 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 completed by the end of the month and presented at the upcoming WTO Recovery Committee meeting.

The WTO body under the chairmanship of Egypt's Minister of Tourism Dr Mamdouh El Beltagui is to meet on November 12 during the World Travel Market in London.

The situation concerning Bali is now a top priority on its agenda. Representatives from Indonesia and Sri Lanka are expected to attend the London event, according to the WTO.

Following the Bali attack, the new crisis was added to the agenda of the 38th 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 from Oct 22-24.

Less tourist arrivals

According to data released in June 2002 by the WTO Secretariat, international tourist arrivals were recorded at 693 million in 2001 (minus 0.6 percent compared to 2000).

The four million decrease from the year 2000 figures was attributed to the weakening economies of major tourism generating markets and the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11.

With the recent bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines coupled with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's less-than-optimistic outlook on the security situation in Malaysia as well, tourism officials and industry leaders are keeping their fingers crossed that Malaysia could be spared similar harrowing experiences.

On Friday, Mahathir told reporters that after Indonesia and the Philippines, Malaysia could be the next terrorist target.

Malaysian authorities have tightened security especially in strategic installations and in public places where large numbers of foreigners are likely to congregate such as pubs and nightclubs.

Said another tour operator: "Indonesia is not only suffering from an image problem now. That it has affected foreign perception is without a doubt. Indonesia has a real internal security problem with unrests in several provinces such as Acheh, Moluccas and Irian Jaya."

Malaysia on list

In a related development, British tourists have been warned of an increased terrorist threat throughout South East Asia. .

The new warnings apply to 11 countries and come in the wake of the Bali bombing in which almost 200 people, many of them tourists, were killed.

The UK Foreign Office said: "There is an increased threat to British nationals and British interests from terrorism in South East Asia."

New advice has been published for institutions in and tourists to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, East Timor, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei, and Burma, according to a CNN.com report.