LEAD: APEC ministers gather on tourism, Japan-China row casting shadow

+

NARA, Japan, Sept. 22 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING)
Top tourism officials from a score of Pacific Rim countries on Wednesday began
exploring ways to promote tourism as their ''growth engine'' in a meeting
overshadowed by a row over a chain of disputed islands between Japan and China,
Asia's two biggest economies.
Representatives of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
gathered in the ancient city of Nara aiming to produce the ''Nara Declaration
on Tourism'' at the end of the two-day event and reaffirm the need to
strengthen ties among them to increase the number of travelers, which has been
hit by the global financial crisis since the fall of 2008.
Japanese Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Sumio Mabuchi
said in his opening remarks that tourism has ''the potential to impact the
revitalization of the regional economy and employment,'' and ''the sustainable
growth of this industry is of paramount importance.''
''I hope we can translate our strong resolve into the Nara Declaration, so that
we can jointly take one step forward,'' he said in the western Japan city,
which is celebrating the 1,300th anniversary of the relocation of the ancient
capital to the city.
The biennial tourism meeting, first held in Seoul in 2000, comes ahead of an
annual APEC summit meeting to be held in Yokohama in November and would serve
as input to developing APEC's growth strategy.
The focus of attention, however, was on what representatives from host Japan
and China were doing, reflecting growing tension between the key APEC members
following collisions earlier this month between a Chinese fishing boat and
Japan Coast Guard vessels off the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China
Sea.
Zhu Shangzhong, vice chairman of the China National Tourism Administration,
skipped a reception hosted by Mabuchi on short notice. Mabuchi said Tuesday he
had declined to meet with Zhu, who was scheduled to make a courtesy call to the
newly appointed Japanese minister during the event.
But both of them at least had brief exchanges during a tea break on Wednesday
and Mabuchi had welcomed the Chinese delegates, according to a Japanese
official.
The row has led to cancellations of travel, music concerts and other cultural
and governmental exchanges between the two countries. Last week, a Chinese
company announced it has canceled a planned visit to Japan by 10,000 of its
employees and others.
Beijing has called on Tokyo to release the captain of the Chinese boat who was
arrested on a charge of obstructing official duty and has been detained in
Japan.
During Wednesday's session, participants reported the current state of their
countries' tourism industry and major problems they are facing.
Japan reported a decline in tourism in 2009 and a subsequent recovery in 2010,
while China reported steady growth and its intention of pursuing expansion of
both inbound and outbound travel, officials said.
Japan has designated tourism as a key to rebuilding the country's economy and
has enacted a law to promote a tourism-oriented country. In its new growth
strategy revealed in June, the Japanese government set the goal of raising the
annual number of travelers to Japan to 25 million by early 2020 and eventually
to 30 million.
==Kyodo
2010-09-22 20:59:34