Trail of Civilizations was the motto of a symposium, initially held in August 2006 in Indonesia under the auspices of the governor of Central Java and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Climax of the event was a ballet performance in front of the temple of Borobudur. Along with the Indonesian hosts the Director of the UNESCO office for Asia and the Pacific in Jakarta as well as the ministers of tourism of the predominantly Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, i.e., Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were present. The symposium has led to the "Borobudur Declaration" which is aimed to foster cooperation and the preservation of cultural heritage among six ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Trail of Civilization itself has become the biennale event and held again on 26 July 2008 in Borobudur. Present in the Trail of Civilization 2008 was the director of UNESCO, the ministers of tourism of six ASEAN countries, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Background Following a series of destructive natural events and the terror attacks in Bali, tourism in large parts had virtually come to a standstill. Even in Bali, a relatively small island that traditionally attracts large numbers of visitors, the crisis was evident at a first glance. Outside Bali, even on the neighbouring islands of Java and Lombok, there were only a handful of western visitors, even at the most famous destinations such as the temples of Prambanan, Borobudur, and the volcanic range of Mount Bromo. In an attempt to revive tourism in Indonesia, and, in particular, encourage visitors to see the unique monuments of Central Java, the symposium was planned to take place in mid-2006. However, the event itself had to be postponed two times because of further natural disasters: the devastating earthquake on 27 May 2006 in Central Java, and the tsunami that hit the coast of Java on 17 July of the same year. The international tourism slump of Borobudur has made Indonesian Ministry of Tourism to look elsewhere for joint cooperation as well as the new source of international visitors. Other than traditional market of Indonesian tourism such as Japan, United States, and European visitors, the Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia is considered to become the potential market. Taking into account the deeply rooted cultural links among Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and