03/10/2005

London - 3 October 2005 - Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President of the World Travel & Tourism Council has condemned the second Bali bombings and expressed the Council's deepest sympathy to all those affected by the attacks.

In a personal letter to Mr Jero Wakik, Indonesia's Minister of Tourism, Mr Baumgarten wrote, "As we have seen only too often over the past months, this is another example of terrorist groups' attempts to undermine confidence and cause widespread destruction and chaos, in what has become a global conflict. Two days after the 2002 bombs I visited Bali with your predecessor and witnessed the destruction for myself. The very fact that Bali has been targeted for a second time, just as the island was re-emerging from the effects of the previous attacks, shows that the aim of the terrorists is to cause maximum destruction and undermine confidence on a global scale."

Mr Baumgarten continued, "Nevertheless, it is clear that destinations affected by such attacks, the Travel & Tourism industry on which their economies are based and tourists themselves, are becoming increasingly resilient. I am confident that, despite this latest setback, Bali will continue its recovery and will be supported by those travelers who are determined not to give in to terrorism."

WTTC has offered its full support to the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism to ensure that the country's Travel & Tourism is able to continue to grow and that those livelihoods which depend on the industry are sustained.

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the business leaders' forum for Travel & Tourism, working with governments to raise awareness of the importance of the industry, which is the world's largest generator of wealth and jobs.

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