(Yonhap Interview) Countries should ease taxes to promote tourism, says PATA chief

By Park So-jung SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- The chief executive officer of an international association promoting tourism in Asia said Tuesday that governments should stop "taxing and harassing" tourism and focus on building a holistic package to promote it. Martin Craigs of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said many governments are stuck in the old mindset of seeing tourism as "something like alcohol and tobacco that needs to be taxed." "We (at the PATA) don't see it like that at all. We see travel and tourism as fundamental to societal development, cross-cultural understanding, empathy and enjoyment," he told Yonhap News Agency prior to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Asia Summit in Seoul. "It therefore should be nurtured, not taxed and harassed as it is in Europe." Citing his research, Craigs said South Korea's tourism industry has become sophisticated and a model for other Asian countries. "You have a balance between outbound and inbound. You have native people who are passionate about seeing the rest of the world. You are a fashionable location," he said. "That's very healthy and encouraging from all points of view." The seasoned expert in the aviation industry also hailed Seoul's decision to build infrastructure around the 2018 Winter Olympics, scheduled to be held in the eastern town of PyeongChang. "What I see in Korea is smart and far-sighted, and having a rail link from Incheon out to the Olympic site would be very much welcome by all the visitors," he said. The former president of the Aerospace Forum Asia, a regional non-profit, claimed that South Korean tourists were adventurous, youthful and drawn to authentic experiences. "They don't want to be taken around in mass groups. They want to, like any tourist, be treated with empathy and respect," he said. In fact, this was the trend seen among other Asian tourists as well, said the British and Irish passport holder. He added that they sought more ambitious activities compared to their American or European counterparts. "Asian tourists are more industrious when they're on a holiday," he said. "They do more. They plan more. They're more organized." He noted that Chinese outbound tourists were "ferociously" interested in shopping and spent a large sum of their disposable income on retail experiences. "That's why if you have retail, you have to have good infrastructure to get to the retail," he said. "You have to make the whole experience seamless, convenient, innovative and authentic." The former managing director of Hillcrest International Advisory also raised the possibility of holding two PATA events in South Korea in the future. "In 2015, it's possible that one of our events could be here," he said. "The Travel Mart would sit very well in 2017, one year before the Olympics." The Travel Mart is a signature trade show hosted by the PATA. Regarding North Korea, Craigs said the PATA treated it with respect given the organization's non-political nature. "Just this week, we've had communication with our members in Pyongyang, and they have asked us if we can help them in building their capabilities to promote tourism," he said. "We're here to help any country because we passionately believe that if you can encourage people to cross borders and understand more about their neighbors, that will overall improve international relations and enrich people's lives." Craigs is scheduled to be part of the WTTC Asia Summit's panel discussion on Wednesday regarding visa policies and processes. sojungko@yna.co.kr (END)