(AFP) Islamic tourism ministers condemned terrorism and called for end to discrimination against Muslim tourists as the aftershocks of the attacks on the United States reverberated at a pan-Islamic conference in Kuala Lumpur at the weekend.

With incoming tourism to some Islamic states down by 60 to 70 percent and outgoing Muslims facing problems at Western airports, the Second Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers proposed a range of solutions.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested Muslim tourists should shun Western countries until they are no longer harassed, while Iran urged more tourists to visit Muslim countries for "a true picture of Islam and the Islamic world."

A final communique issued last night by the ministers from the 56-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said "Islam rejects terrorism in all its forms as well as any action leading to it."

The conference resolved to appeal to the United Nations, other international organisations and the media "to work towards normalcy in the international scene" and contain conflict areas.

Mahathir told the opening session of the conference that "as a result of the WTC (World Trade Centre) attacks Muslims are finding life in Western countries and travelling there very difficult.

"We don't have to expose ourselves to this difficulty. There are countries, Muslim and non-Muslim where there is no discrimination against us.

"For the time being we should go there instead. When the furore has died down we can resume our old practices."

Image crisis

The World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Francesco Frangialli told the conference, tourism arrivals in some countries in North Africa and the Middle East had plunged by 60 to 70 percent as Muslim nations found themselves penalised for the terror attacks on the United States.

He said the Muslim world faced an "image" crisis after the Sept 11 strikes on New York and Washington led to a unfair perception that Islam was linked to terrorism.

"Reservation bookings are down around the world between 20 and 30 percent ... but for destinations like Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and North Africa, it's down by 60 to 70 percent," he said.

Culture,Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, who chaired the talks, said at the end of the conference that the misperception of Islam after the Sept 11 attacks had created an "unnecessary environment of tension and crisis" and hit tourism.

"We condemned terrorists everywhere and we don't want people to cause difficulty for Muslim travellers," he told a press conference.

The secretary-general of Saudi Arabia's tourism commission, Prince Sultan Salman Abdel Aziz, said it was important to deepen tourism cooperation among members of the OIC.

"The Islamic world needs tourism because it is a great economic engine ... we believe tourism development is important for the Islamic world to move forward," he said.

The conference issued a broad programme of action to facilitate tourism within member states, to boost joint marketing and research and training.

This included plans for a possible open sky policy, preferential treatment and incentives such as lower tariffs for its citizens, waiving of visa requirements and developing an OIC tourism website.

Abdul Kadir said the plan would be worked out in detail at an experts' meeting to be hosted by Iran soon but added it would "take a long time to implement."