Asia targets tourism, education boost from US travel ban

 Seeking to capitalize on US President Donald Trump’s controversial new travel restrictions, companies and officials in Asia said they would target greater tourism and education ties with Muslims worried about the curbs.
Trump’s Friday directive put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In Muslim-majority Malaysia, the group CEO of Asia’s largest budget airline, AirAsia, suggested countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could cash in.
“With the world now getting more isolationist it’s time for ASEAN to start making it easier for tourists to come,” Tony Fernandes said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Malaysia is a popular destination for tourists from the Middle East, with nearly 200,000 arriving in 2016 from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Qatar.

Safety and Security
Trump has presented his ban as a way to protect the US from militants, but it has been condemned by a growing list of foreign leaders and drawn protests by tens of thousands in American cities.
With concerns about safety and security building, some Asians were reconsidering US travel plans and seeking alternatives, even though their countries were not subject to the restrictions.
“When you want to travel, especially for leisure, then you want peace of mind,” said Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communications at Singapore’s Dynasty Travel.
S. M. Tareque, managing director of Orchid, a travel agency in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, said he had canceled his own trip fearing harassment at US airports.
He said he knew of five people who were emigrating to the US who had put their plans on hold.

Tougher vetting
Trump has argued tougher vetting of immigrants is needed to protect America from attacks, but critics complain that his order unfairly singles out Muslims and defiles America’s historic reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants.
Keysar Trad, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said Trump’s travel restrictions were not only hurting innocent people but were “bringing great damage to his own economy and to the standings of Americans internationally.”
“Everyone who has relatives in America, whether they are from the countries listed or not, they are petrified of what this man is going to do to America and to their relatives,” Trad told Reuters. Some education providers had seen early signs of an impact.
Ajay Mital, director at International Placewell Consultants in New Delhi, which places Indian students in universities abroad, said Germany and Singapore had stepped up efforts to recruit students.

Looking elsewhere
Delhi-based IT professional Kanishk Singh had applied to more than a dozen US universities for a masters course in creative writing. He received an e-mail from Indiana University warning him that visa processing for international students was going to be hit after President Trump’s latest orders. “If I don’t get to the US, I will apply for UK,” he said.
Rod Jones, CEO of Australian-listed education firm Navitas Ltd, said the company had seen a downturn in inquiries for their US-based English language courses.

 Seeking to capitalize on US President Donald Trump’s controversial new travel restrictions, companies and officials in Asia said they would target greater tourism and education ties with Muslims worried about the curbs.
Trump’s Friday directive put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In Muslim-majority Malaysia, the group CEO of Asia’s largest budget airline, AirAsia, suggested countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could cash in.
“With the world now getting more isolationist it’s time for ASEAN to start making it easier for tourists to come,” Tony Fernandes said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Malaysia is a popular destination for tourists from the Middle East, with nearly 200,000 arriving in 2016 from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Qatar.

Safety and Security
Trump has presented his ban as a way to protect the US from militants, but it has been condemned by a growing list of foreign leaders and drawn protests by tens of thousands in American cities.
With concerns about safety and security building, some Asians were reconsidering US travel plans and seeking alternatives, even though their countries were not subject to the restrictions.
“When you want to travel, especially for leisure, then you want peace of mind,” said Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communications at Singapore’s Dynasty Travel.
S. M. Tareque, managing director of Orchid, a travel agency in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, said he had canceled his own trip fearing harassment at US airports.
He said he knew of five people who were emigrating to the US who had put their plans on hold.

Tougher vetting
Trump has argued tougher vetting of immigrants is needed to protect America from attacks, but critics complain that his order unfairly singles out Muslims and defiles America’s historic reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants.
Keysar Trad, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said Trump’s travel restrictions were not only hurting innocent people but were “bringing great damage to his own economy and to the standings of Americans internationally.”
“Everyone who has relatives in America, whether they are from the countries listed or not, they are petrified of what this man is going to do to America and to their relatives,” Trad told Reuters. Some education providers had seen early signs of an impact.
Ajay Mital, director at International Placewell Consultants in New Delhi, which places Indian students in universities abroad, said Germany and Singapore had stepped up efforts to recruit students.

Looking elsewhere
Delhi-based IT professional Kanishk Singh had applied to more than a dozen US universities for a masters course in creative writing. He received an e-mail from Indiana University warning him that visa processing for international students was going to be hit after President Trump’s latest orders. “If I don’t get to the US, I will apply for UK,” he said.
Rod Jones, CEO of Australian-listed education firm Navitas Ltd, said the company had seen a downturn in inquiries for their US-based English language courses.

Source : Arab News