Bali Update - Edition #300

(6/17/2002)

In March of 1998, J.M. Daniels, then serving as the Vice Chairman of the Bali chapter of the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) started sending e-mails to friends, travel agents, and wholesalers around the world in an attempt to balance the often incorrect and sensational news being published about Indonesia and Bali at that time.

Obviously eager to hear "the other side of the story," hundreds and eventually thousands of people began to ask to be included on Jack's regular updates. Now in its fifth year, the Bali Update is read by over 10,000 readers each week and has been cited by Time Magazine as "Bali's Truth Ministry."

Over the ensuing years the look and the technology behind Bali Update have changed dramtically. In 2001, when his term as PATA Chairman came to a close and no one appeared prepared to assume responsibility for future Updates, a decision was made to formally transfer ownership of the newsletter from the Bali PATA Chapter to Bali Discovery Tours, a local destination management company owned by Jack Daniels and Arie Sukirno.

Now independent and no longer able to officially call on the technical wizardly of fellow PATA board member, Melina Caruso, the Bali Discovery team re-launched the Update in a new HTML format permitting a capsulated presentation for busy readers, providing links back to pictures and detailed stories located at the balidiscovery.com website. Readers unable to access HTML format material can still opt out for a plain text version subscription.

Thanks to Internet technologies, the Bali Update continues to come out every Monday - even when its editor is traveling on behalf of Bali Discovery Tours in far away Europe or America.

While the look of Bali Update has changed, its mission remains the same: to provide the latest news on tourism-related developments from the island of Bali. We strive to innovate, be informative, insightful, and occasionally hard hitting in our coverage of the magical island of Bali.

To our many readers worldwide, thank you for your loyalty. Let us repay the favor by allowing Bali Discovery Tours the opportunity of looking after you when next you visit the island of Bali.