BALI UPDATE #299 - 10 June 2002

Lunch with the Initiative

David Hall to Speak to Bali MICE Initiative on Tuesday, June 25.

The Bali MICE Initiative, an association over 50 members of the island's meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition meeting will be hosting a lunch time presentation on The Challenges and Opportunities of the MICE Market on Tuesday, June 25, 2002, by Mr. David Hall of David Hall & Associates.

David Hall has been involved in the convention and exhibition industry for over thirty years.

Since the late 1960's David Hall has been the CEO of various convention and visitor bureaus both in New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.

During the past 10 years with his own company, David Hall and Associates, he has consulted to various governments and destinations in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe as well as Australia on the development and operation of convention & visitors' bureaus and the international marketing requirements for dedicated convention and exhibition facilities. These assignments have included periods in both Bali and in Jakarta.

David Hall has been a board member of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureau (IACVB), the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureau (AACVB) and was the President of the Association of Australian Convention Bureau (AACB) for five years.

Cost for the lunch and presentation is Rp. 150,000 for Bali MICE Initiative Members and their guests and Rp. 175,000 for Non-Members of the Initiative. Price includes luncheon and Mr. Hall's presentation. Cash Bar will be available.

Reservations by e-mail to info@micebali.com or by calling Ibu Ifah at telephone 0361-286283 or facsimile 0361 286284. Booking must be made before June 24.

More information: Book a Lunch with the Bali MICE Initiative

Easier Access for Sea Tourism

Minister Ardika Announces New Measures to Encourage Sea Tourism.

The National Maritime Council has agreed to simplify the permit process for foreign nationals who wish to bring yachts into the Country.

The Minister for Culture and Tourism, Mr. I Gede Ardika, in announcing the sweeping changes pointed out that the problem of simplifying the permit process for visiting yachtsmen currently involves a substantial number of departments and branches of the Government. The Minister explained "the National Maritime Council has agreed to simplify entry permits for foreign tourists wishing to undertake sea voyages in Indonesia. The problem will now be dealt with by the Council as the coordinating body and no longer by each of the individual departments and government agencies."

The sweeping changes are due, in part, to calls made by the Association of Indonesian Sea Tourism Companies (GAHAWISRI) who asked the Government to pursue a National Open Sea Policy in order to stimulate yacht tourism to the country. Under the current system visiting ships confront a myriad of bureaucratic obstacles that have to be surmounted in order to bring a foreign flagged ship into Indonesian waters. These steps include, among others, obtaining security and territorial clearances from the Armed Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs; port clearances; complex customs clearance and tax regulations; and immigration clearances.

Under the new policy, the permit process is expected to be handled by one agency of the Government coordinated under single roof by the National Maritime Council.

More information: Sail Your Yacht to Indonesia

What's Up Dock?

Bali's Benoa Port Unable to Handle Island's Shipping Growth.

The entire island of Bali is served by a single protected port - Benoa located at the southern tip of the island in close proximinty to the island's only airport and the major tourism areas of the island. The area is a natural tidal basin surrounded by an environmentally critical mangrove forests that at its centers offers a protected anchorage to shipping via a narrow entrance through a break in a coral reef.

A Very Crowded Port

The sole port for a bustling tourism island with a population of 3 million souls, Benoa must provide support to a growing fishing fleet, a container terminal, various passenger ships, and the large number of yachts and day boat tourism operators.

The current port area, which requires almost continuous dredging to maintain accessibility, covers an area of only 57 hectares. Within that area there is a 730 meter long fishing dock that handles 600 fishing boat visits each month. Another separate 450 meter dock handles a growing number of container ship visits, some 18 tourism vessels who make their home port in Bali, assorted visits by inter-island passengers ships, and the odd calls by small visiting navy ships.

Expansion Problematic

While plans have long been on the drawing board to increase the current port from its current 57 hectares to an initial 261 hectares and eventually to 483 hectares, the funding for the required expansion is another victim of Indonesia's continuing economic and political crisis.

Beyond these finanical restraints, there looms a lobby of resistance to any Benoa port expansion from local environmental groups. Although a detailed environmental impact study has reportedly been done suggesting the expansion is environmentally viable, any expansion at the expense of the mangrove forests that surrounds the port's perimeter meets with strong objection from local environmental groups.

According to official statistics, the use of the Benoa port grows at an average rate of 20% meaning that in the absence of a port expansion program or the construction of an alternative port facility the export, fishing and tourism sectors are soon to be facing very real carrying capacity limitations imposed by Bali's port capacity.

Village Unrest Claims Victim

Traditional Village Turf Tussle Erupts into Violence.

Clashes between the residents of the villages of Culik and Kebon in Bali's northeast regency of Karangasem turned briefly violent on Tuesday, June 6, 2002, resulting in the death of a 70 year-old farmer. The man perished when 30 homes and shops were burnt in an episode of rioting.

A dispute among neighbors over the rights to community owned parcels of land and temple suddenly turned violent when the people of Kebon attempted to unilaterally declare the formation of a new traditional village or desa adat. A religious ceremony, at Pura Penataran Kebon Agung temple, meant to formally inaugurate the new unit, angered the residents of Culik who felled trees across roads leading to the location to prevent the participation of local government authorities.

The tense situation between the residents of two villages escalated resulting in the burning of 30 homes and small businesses in Kebon. The 70 year-old villager who lost his life in the fires, Mr. I Nengah Migum, was reportedly ill and bedridden at the time of the fire, preventing his evacuation to safety.

The conflict caused traffic around Bali's northeast coast to come to a complete standstill for a day with movement only returning to normal on the following day, Wednesday.

Local Press reports indicate that following the violent outbreak, the two warring factions - members of each sharing family ties, finally managed to hold talks that resulted in the revocation of the declaration of the new village unit and outlined steps to ensure the residents of Kebon receive greater attention in local administrative issues in the future.

Unhappy Ferry Tale

Industrial Action Interrupts Ferry Service Between Bali and Java.

Ferry service between Gilimanuk, Bali and Ketapang in East Java - the crossing points between the two islands slowly returned to normal on Friday, June 07, 2002, following a 24 hour long strike by private ferry operators at the ports.

13 of the 19 ferries that operate over the short straits between Bali and Jawa stopped operations the day before to protest the lack of a response from the Minister of Transportation to their request for an increase in ferry tariffs.

An average of 1,000 vehicles cross the straits each day served by the ships operated by members of the Association of River and Lake Transport Companies (GASPADAF). During the short work stoppage, busses and cars quickly filled the two ports parking lots on both sides of the straits creating long lines of vehicles and passengers waiting to cross the straits.

AWAIR Shutdown Continues

Gone for Ever? AWAIR extends Airline Shutdown.

An initial 3-month suspension of operations announced by AWAIR - PT Air Wagon International last March 8, 2002, has been extended for an additional three months.

The initial shutdown was blamed on fierce price competition by the large number of start up airlines in Indonesia. The latest 3 month extension on that delay to resume operation is due to a lack of operating aircraft.

According to an airline spokesman, AWAIR is negotiating for the lease of 5-6 small aircraft that, if successful, will be operated on yet-to-be-disclosed routes.

PrepCom IV Draws to A Quiet Close

Major International U.N. Conference Closes without Major Declaration or Incident.

Plenary sessions at the Preparatory Committee Meetings for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (PrepCom IV), attended by ministerial-level representatives and delegates from 137 countries, failed to agree on a final action plan at the final sessions held in Bali on Friday, June 07, 2002. Claiming "considerable progress" in the absence of the much hoped for "Bali Declaration," United Nation's spokesman, Lowell Flanders admitted that while discussions reached an impasse in such areas as financial and international trade, substantial understandings were achieved in matters touching the world's ocean resources and good governance. However, any political declaration agreed between the participating nations will have to wait until the World Summit scheduled in Johannesburg, South Africa later this year.

Feared Large Public Protests Did Not Materialize

A highly visible police and military presence from the Indonesian authorities overwhelmed both in numbers and sheer force any elements that may have been planning to use the meetings to stage violent protests. The protests that did occur were small and well-organized, using banners and street theatre to make their statements.

Greenpeace Protest Frustrated

The Greenpeace vessel Artic Sunrise, berthing at Bali's Benoa harbor throughout the conference, was frustrated in its efforts to make a dramatic statement in the waters only hundreds of meters from the main conference hall. Plans to toss a large paper mache three-headed ogoh-ogoh monster into the sea to represent U.S., Canadian, and Australian intransigence on sustainable development issues came to naught. Although approved by local police, Greenpeace's plans were thwarted at the last minute when Balinese pacalang or local village security forces objected, claiming local tradition dictated that ogoh-ogoh's can only be thrown into the ocean on the eve of the Balinese New Year.

Conference Brings Good Business

According to the local conference organizers for Prepcom IV, the event brought numerous benefits to Bali's tourism industry. Although materializing substantially less than the 6,000-10,000 expected, those who did attend brought hotels in the Nusa Dua area to 90%-plus occupancy levels. Members of the travel consortium handling PrepCom IV, reported substantial bookings for pre and post conference tours, underlining the faith the delegates have in Bali's overall security situation.

Fallen Arches or Just Clowning Around?

Bali Government Claims Several MacDonald's Locations Operating Illegally.

Against the backdrop of the multi national Prepcom IV meetings being held in Bali to urge good international corporate citizenship, the MacDonald's Family Restaurant chain received some unwelcome publicity when the Denpasar City Government announced that several of that Company's outlets in Bali were lacking the necessary operating licenses.

When visited by a 10-member municipal inspection team on Thursday, June 06, 2002, at least three MacDonald outlets in Bali were discovered to be operating without the locally mandatory permits. The official site visits were prompted by repeated summons issued to the restaurant's management to take the steps necessary to secure the needed permits by the local government that were ignored by MacDonald's.

Local managers admitted their failure to answer official summons, claiming permits were a matter handled by the corporate headquarters in Jakarta.

Denpasar government officials have threatened that if the necessary permits are not soon secured, the violating restaurants might be closed under the powers granted them by Provincial Regulation number 25 of 2001.

MacDonald's Indonesia Operation Beset with Other Problems

In a separate and unrelated matter, the owner of the MacDonald's franchise in Indonesia, Mr. Bambang N. Rachmadi continues to be sought by the police for questioning in connection with the misuse of a Rp. 40 billion (approximately $4.7 million) loan facility received through the state social security fund - P.T. Jamsostek to expand the chain in Indonesia. Absent from Indonesia since late March and reportedly in the United States, Mr. Rachmadi has failed to respond to numerous requests from the National Police for an interview.

Police authorities have recently threatened to seek INTERPOL's assistance in locating the Indonesian businessman and bringing him in for formal questioning.

Update: Mabua Delayed During Docking

Accident While Returning from Annual Docking Means Service not to Resume Before 24 June.

Scheduled to return to regular service on June 4, 2002, following its annual docking in Surabaya, the Mabua Express was already delayed when it ran aground at the entrance to the Benoa Harbor early on the morning of June 7, during its return voyage from Surabaya.

Damage to the ship's hull resulted from the mishap and while temporary repairs have been made surveyors have been called in to asses the true extent of injury to the vessel. It is now expected that the ship will have to return to the Surabaya dockyards before it can resume regular service.

Subject to further information from the operators, the earliest service is expected to resume is June 24, 2002.

The Mabua Express operates a daily fast ferry service between Benoa Harbor in Bali and Lembar Harbor in Lombok. When the ship returns to service The Mabua Express schedules departures every morning at 08.30 a.m. from its Bali base, crossing the straits in 2.5 hours. A return journey leaves Lombok's Lembar Harbor at 2.00 p.m. arriving in Bali at 4.30 p.m..

More information: Book a Mabua Cruise to Lombok

Rock of Ages

Foundation Stone Laid at GWK Cultural Park.

On Wednesday, June 05, 2002, a special ceremony was held at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Monument Park (GWK) on Bali's Ungasan Peninsula to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone for the pedestal that will eventually serve as the base for a colossal monument standing 146 meters high and some 286 meters above sea level.

The ceremony, attended by an estimated 2,000 invitees and presided over by the Coordination Minister for the Economy, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, marked commencement of the construction of the massive anchoring pedestal which, on its own, will have a height of 80 meters, equivalent to a 16-story building. The foundation platform will form part of a total statue estimated to eventually weigh 2,000 tons and built to resemble the imagery of the Hindu epic hero Lord Wisnu sitting stop the back of the mythical Garuda bird. The wing span of the Garuda bird will be an impressive 60 meters.

In inaugurating the foundation stone, Minister Dorodjatun requested that those behind the project accelerate the completion of the monuments to demonstrate to the world that Indonesia has emerged from its era of crisis. In his remarks, the Minister also underlined the economic benefits to be brought to Bali by the monuments completion, the positive environmental effect of having reclaimed a disused quarry to build the site, and how the monuments and its surrounding facilities will eventually become a cultural center for the island.

The 250 hectare project, when completed, will include the monument plaza, an international trade and promotion center, landscaped gardens, a festival and water park, a 5,000 person capacity convention center, a resort complex, and a residential complex.

Adam Brand at Hard Rock June 13-14

Award Winning Country Singer To Appear in Bali.

Adam Brand, seven-time winner of Australia's coveted Golden Guitar award will appear at Bali's Hard Rock Hotel's Center-Stage June 13-14^th, appearing each evening at 9 p.m..

Born in Perth, Western Australia, and weaned on a musical diet of Gospel, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and the Righteous Brothers by his minister stepfather, Adam left home at 16 to develop his country music style before moving to Sydney to pursue a musical career.

Rocketing to success after the launch of his debut album titled "Adam Brand" in July of 1998, the young artist has become a leading star in Australian country music. He has been awarded two gold albums, seven Golden Guitar awards and two Mo awards.

Adam Brand will be singing songs from his latest hit album Built for Speed during his limited two night engagement at Bali's Hard Rock Hotel.

More information: Book a Stay at the Hard Rock

Captain of Mabua's Sales & Marketing

Veteran Marketer Appointed to Secure Business on Mabua's Bali-Lombok Ferry.

Mabua Intan Express operators of the luxury fast-catamaran offering daily service between Bali's Benoa Harbor and the port of Lembar in Lombok, have announced the appointment of Mr. Audyano Sumampow as their new Sales & Marketing Manager.

Mr. Sumampow brings to his new position extensive experience in sales and marketing with past positions with the Jayakarta Suites Hotel Bandung, Dewata Beach Hotel Canggu Bali, and with Moet-Hennessey Asia based in Bali.

Mr. Sumampow is a 1994 graduate of the Hotel & Tourism Academy in Bandung.

More information: Visit Lombok with Mabua Express