KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13: Tourism ministers from Muslim countries on Saturday appealed to the Western countries not to discriminate against Muslim travellers in the wake of last month’s attacks on the United States.

The Second Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers condemned terrorism at the end of a two-day conference here, but called for an “alleviation of discriminatory measures against Muslims travelling at borders of several countries.”

Malaysia’s tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, who chaired the talks, said the misperception of Islam after the attacks on New York and Washington had created an “unnecessary environment of tension and crisis” and led to a drop in tourist arrivals.

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

“We appeal to the United Nations, other recognised international organisations and the international media to work towards normalcy in the international scene and to contain the conflict areas to where it should be.

“Don’t drag the whole world in.”

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 Organisation of Islamic Conference (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.

“Any condition of abnormalcy especially the negative potrayal of this part of the world is a serious hindrance to tourism.”

World Tourism Organisation (WTO) chief Francesco Frangialli said Islamic countries must join forces in terms of “security and image building” to cope with the tourism slump.

The conference, attended by some 28 OIC ministers or their deputies, issued a broad program of action to faciliate tourism within member states, to boost joint marketing and research and training.

Among others, it cited plans for a possible open sky policy, preferential treatment and incentives such as lower tariffs for its citizens, waiving of visa requirement 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.”

Muslim countries are grappling with a sharp drop in tourist arrivals following the US disaster, with reservation bookings in some destinations in North Africa and the Middle East down by 60-70 percent, according to the WTO. —AFP