Tourists flock to Bali despite new travel
warnings
Report by The Mole
- TravelMole Weds 18th July 2007
A Reuters report in Indonesia
says that Bali is drawing tourists in droves and travel
warnings that Islamic militants might strike again has
done little to dampen the spirit.
Almost five years after 202
people were killed in the bombing of a Bali nightclub,
tourists are back enjoying the island's nightlife and
soaking up the sun on Bali's palm-fringed beaches, with
23-year-old Australian Josh Donnelly saying as he walked
past the now razed Sari Club, which was blown up in the
2002 bombing, "That was a sad event but Bali is too
beautiful to resist. The place is bouncing back."
After the attack, Bali suffered
a dramatic slump in tourism and locals such as taxi
driver Gede Widiada found they could barely make ends
meet saying, "I have been selling my wife's jewellery in
the past four years to run my family,
but my income now is much better," as he waited
for tourists outside a resort.
Like Widiada, many shops,
restaurants, and hotels on this island are finally
seeing their fortunes revived but dubbed as the "Island
of Gods" for its myriad Hindu temples and religious
rituals, Bali suffered another blow in 2005 when suicide
bombers blew themselves up at three restaurants, killing
20 people.
The attacks in 2002 and 2005,
aimed at Western targets, killed a total of 92
Australians and the Australian Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade issued an upgraded travel advisory on
July 8, warning Australians that terrorists were
actively planning attacks, including on Bali, but
despite these warnings, Australians who make up more
than 15% of the total foreign tourist arrivals in Bali,
are flocking to one of their favourite destinations.
"I am not afraid of coming back
to Bali. You could die in a road accident tomorrow,"
said Donnelly.
Indonesian police say the
security situation in the country at the moment is
favourable, with tourism in Bali, a predominantly Hindu
region in Muslim Indonesia, providing a livelihood for
70% of the three million people living on this island of
surfing beaches.
Shops selling batik clothing,
carvings and silverware near the famous Kuta beach
reported increased sales since this year, although they
have still not reach pre-2002 levels.
"We have probably reached just 60% or 70% of that
level and two years ago, it was just 30% - 40%," said
Tina, an assistant at a shop selling paintings to
tourists.
Bagus Sudibya, an advisor at
the Bali Tourism Board, said the industry and the
government had jointly spent nearly $10 million since
last year to revive tourism to the island, with the
island seeing a 34% jump in foreign tourist arrivals in
the first five months of 2007 compared to the same
period last year.
Tourism figures show the
average hotel occupancy in Bali so far in July was
between 70% and 90%, compared with 5% to 70% in July
2006.
"It's the holiday season now
and it's nice to see there that our rooms are fully
occupied," said Made Kardana, resort assistant manager
at Intercontinental Bali Resort.
While Jakarta has been
aggressively promoting the island by holding major
governmental meetings, hotels have been providing
attractive packages to private business conference
organisers.
"Business delegates are
visiting the region and seeing it for themselves,"
Sudibya said.
Bali will also
host the high profile Kyoto Protocol meeting in
December, which will give a boost to arrivals this
year.
Last month Indonesian police
arrested two alleged top Jemaah Islamiyah leaders and
among them was Abu Dujana, who admitted to heading a
military wing of the network and is suspected by police
of being involved in the first Bali bomb among other
attacks.
"There is stepped-up security
everywhere in Bali and the arrest of militants will also
add to the region's confidence," Sudibya added.
Guards still frisk customers at
doors of pubs and cars at the gates of hotels and
resorts, but the mood is upbeat. "The
spirit of Bali never dies," said a discotheque manager
Putu Budiasa as tourists bopped to hip-hop
music.
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