BALI UPDATE #319 - 28 October 2002

Is Bali 100% Safe?

The President of the Indonesian Association of Travel Agents (ASITA) Replies.

On October 22, 2002, just 10 Days after the tragic bombing of a Kuta nightspot, Ms. Meity Robot, President of the Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (ASITA) and Vice-Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Council traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to address the annual meeting of the Universal Federation of Travel Agents' Associations (UFTAA).

Ms. Robot's last-minute inclusion in the official program schedule was in response to the tragedy 10 days earlier in Bali and arranged through the kind courtesy of Mr. Tunku Iskandar, the President of the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA).

With the generous permission of Ms. Robot, balidiscovery.com includes the following excerpts from her remarks before the UFTAA conference:

Difficult Times

It is so hard for me to think what to say after the tragedy that has occurred on our beloved isle of Bali. We grieve for those who lost their lives in this senseless act.

We pray for those that were injured, both physically and mentally, that they will recover as quickly as possible.

We extend our hearts to those that were affected worldwide, to the families of those who died, to their friends, to their loved ones. We cannot put back the clock. We cannot say "only if we had done something earlier" - we didn't. The Government of Indonesia - for reasons we do not know, decided that there was no credible threat from terrorism and did not do all they might have done. Could they have prevented this tragedy? Probably not, since we have witnessed time and time again around the world that cruel, determined people can usually succeed with their evil deeds, even with maximum security.

The Terrorist Target

But why did they choose Bali? Why did they choose the most innocent of all tourists – the young surfers and sports fans?

The answer sadly is that the impact on the world is the greatest when it is the most innocent who are targeted. We pray it will not be repeated, but almost certainly the horror of the terrorism will continue not only in Indonesia, but around the world.

The Challenge Ahead

But we must go on. Indonesia has at least 5 million people who are dependent on tourism directly and some 7 million more indirectly. Many of these are in Bali.

Only a few days ago the Minister of Manpower announced that up to 130,000 hotel and tourism workers are likely to be laid off in Bali within a month. That will have a devastating effect on the island. This is the tragedy about which the bombers did not care and the world will not see.

But what can we do? The Indonesian travel industry immediately united to do everything to help and were involved in the aid to the victims and their families. We will continue to do everything we can to ease the suffering of those affected but now we must think of the future ... Our future.

The people of Bali have been struck a cruel blow. Their reputation for friendliness and welcome has been deliberately savaged. Their daily dedication to religion, so apparent everywhere on the island, obliterated. Their warmth and happiness have been torn from them by these vicious blasts.

They did not want this to happen but now they must suffer. Can we help them?

It is not right for me to ask you to send tourists to Bali at this time. The world and Bali need time to recover. But I plead for the future.

Ladies & Gentlemen, please do not write us off, do not throw us away. We have been the victim and have been so cruelly hit by so many tragedies not of our making that this one leaves us breathless and shocked. But we must not give up. So many people's lives depend on it. So many innocent families will be deprived of their liveliehoods.

All Eyes are On the Government

We are working with the government, urging action, urging speed, urging decisiveness, urging openness, urging justice, and we hope they will deliver. The eyes of the world are on them.

Is Bali 100% Safe?

We cannot say Bali will be 100% safe but this is also now true of all destinations in the world. Bali was the beginning but sadly may not be the end. So we as an industry must stand firm and not let these politically based doers of evil win. We must fight and we must pray.

Don't Forget the People of Bali

Please do not forget the people and the Isle of the Gods, for they are still there. Battered and bruised but preparing their blessed land again to welcome back everyone when they feel the time is right.

We hope it will not be too long.

President Ask Leaders to Lift Travel Bans

On a Trip to Mexico, Ibu Megawati Calls for End to Travel Bans.

Both Reuters and The New York Times report Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri has used her appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Mexico to call on the leaders of other nations to urgently lift the travel bans and advisories introduced against Indonesia in the wake of the Kuta-Legian bomb blast of October 12^th.

Speaking on October 26, 2002, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Indonesian President reminded her fellow world leaders that the introduction of such bans create social and political panic, providing a victory to the perpetrator of terrorist acts, and encouraging similar future attacks.

More information: New York Times Coverage of President's Remarks

Nyoman's Land

Bali's Arrival Numbers and Occupancy Numbers Continue to Plummet.

Reeling in the aftermath of the October 12^th terrorist attack on Legian-Kuta, foreign arrivals and hotel occupancy rates continue their dramatic downward spiral. As a result, local tourism obervers sit on the edge of their seats wondering when the downward spiral will bottom out - forming the benchmark for the slow climb back to recovery, leaving them asking: Is the worst over, or still to come?

Hotel Occupancies

According to figures released by the Governor's Command Post, overall occupancies on the island stood at an average 18% on October 26, down from a level just over 70% in the days just prior to the tragedy.

Some individual major properties on the island are said to be registering single digit occupancy figures, well below the estimate 20-40% occupancy levels needed to generate sufficient cash flows to sustain break-even operations.

Many hotels have responded by requiring staff to take all unused leave, to take "leave in advance," and reduce working days - all steps seen as preludes to the seemingly inevitable staff reductions if the crisis of confidence in Bali continues.

Arrivals

Equally foreboding are the foreign arrival numbers at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport. Daily foreign arrivals were averaging just over 5,000 passengers per day in the days prior to the attack. That number has continued to dwindle with only 798 people arriving through the airport on October 24, 2002.

Forward Bookings Weak

While cancellations of groups and individual passengers were of tidal intensity during the week following the blast, the fact that new bookings for holiday bookings to Bali have slowed to a trickle foreshadows a long and prolonged drought of visitors for the months ahead.

One industry expert has estimated losses to the meeting and conference sector alone in terms of cancelled bookings at a value exceeding US$ 10 million.

Indonesian Operators Honored at TTG Awards

Three Indonesian Companies Cited at Annual Awards Ceremony.

On Wednesday, October 23^rd, in an awards ceremony and gala dinner hosted by The Sofitel Central Plaza Bangkok, three Indonesian tourism operators were among the many companies singled out as leaders in their fields during the TTG Travel Awards 2002. The event was held in conjunction with the IT&CMA exhibition - a major meeting and exhibition show held in Bangkok October 23-25, 2002.

The TTG Awards, now in their tenth year, are among the most coveted and influential awards bestowed in the region's travel industry. Winners are selected by readers of the travel-industry trade paper TTG Asia with recognition given to those considered the best airline, best hotels, best airport, best car rental company, best cruise operator and best national tourism association. Each recipient receives a 24-karat gold-plated statue of Hermes - the God of Travel in Ancient Greek Mythology.

Indonesian Winners

Cited as the best Indonesian Travel Agent was Pacto Tours, while the Amanjiwo Resort near the Borobudur temple complex in Central Java and the Maya Ubud Resort cited as Best Non-Beach Resort and Best New Resort, respectively.

Shown on balidiscovery.com is a picture of Mr. Sean Flakelar, General Manager of the Amanjiwo, and Mr. Paul Blake, General Manager of the Maya Ubud, holding their TTG Awards.

Mr. Halim Indrakusuma the President Director of PACTO accepted the award on behalf of his company.

Write Your Way to Bali

PATA offers trip to Annual Conference to Essay Winner.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced an essay contest in conjunction with its annual conference scheduled for Bali, April 13-17, 2002.

The contest, open to young tourism professionals under the age of 30 working for PATA member companies or attending a PATA-member educational institution, seeks essays of 1,500 words or less describing "A vision for Pacific Asia Tourism in 2025." Entrants are encouraged to reflect on the ever-changing tourism industry and the specific challenges it presents.

The Prize

The winning essay will be published on PATAnet with its author receiving round-trip economy-class air tickets to Bali on Singapore Airlines, accommodation for four nights at the Sheraton Nusa Indah Resort and a paid-registration to the 2003 PATA Annual Conference(April 13-17, 2003).

Deadline: November 15

Entries must reach PATA by November 15, 2002. Entries received after this date will not be accepted. Essays must be in English and sent via e-mail to ytp@pata.th.com with the subject line: "A Vision for Pacific Asia Tourism in 2025."

More information: Contest Details

Numerous Changes to Flight Schedules

Post October 12 Bombing, Many Airlines Reduce Bali Flights.

With the issuance of travel advisories for Indonesia and Bali from numerous nations and the resulting sudden decrease in demand for air seats to Bali, a number of airlines are temporarily reducing services to Bali.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines (SIA) continue to operate 4 daily non-stop flights between Bali and Singapore. A fifth service, added during the October 14-22 period, to meet the surge demand for exodus seats from Bali has now been discontinued.

Qantas

Qantas (QF) has announced a redeployment of equipment in the face of reduced Bali demand and the increased demand for other destinations in the region.

QF will continue to operate four Sydney-Jakarta and two Perth-Jakarta return flights per week; offer two Boeing 767 Sydney-Denpasar return services a week from November - down from four return services operated prior to the October 12^th tragedy; operate one weekly return Boeing 737 Perth-Denpasar service flight each week from December, increasing to two services a week in January; and cancel the weekly Melbourne-Denpasar service.

Cathay Pacific Airways

Cathay Pacific (CX) have cut 3 of their normal 10 weekly flights between Hong Kong and Bali.

Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia, (GA) although reporting drops in passenger uplifts from both Europe and Australia of as much as 60-70 % following the bombing, has not yet made any formal announcement on flight reductions.

A Four Step Road to Recovery

Minister Ardika Maps Out the Future.

Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism, I Gede Ardika, spoke to Bali's local tourism industry in the week following the October 12^th tragedy, outlining what he depicted as a four-step path to recovery for Bali and the nation's tourism industry.

According to the Minister speaking at a press conference in Nusa Dua, complete recovery will only occur in 2004 with the next three months dedicated to industry rescue efforts, the first six months of 2003 for rehabilitation, and the last half of next year for normalization. The central working theme for each of the aforementioned phases will be returning the international market's faith in Bali as a destination that is safe, secure, and interesting for international visitors.

A national meeting of tourism industry leaders was held in Bali and led by the Minister to discuss a number of issues arising from the October 12^th bomb attack in Legian-Kuta including a repositioning of the Bali travel product, the handling of information, and undertaking "road shows" – all within the context of empathetic steps to restore Bali's positive public image.

In order to bridge the time necessary for Bali's recovery the industry has agreed to undertake an unprecedented marketing campaign aimed at the domestic market, setting for itself an ambitious target of domestic arrivals of 5 million people, a total roughly equivalent to 5% of the countries total population.

Nusa Penida Villagers Attack Quicksilver

Day Cruise Operator Suffers Damage to Pontoon and Submersible Vessel.

Disgruntled over what they viewed as a lack of sufficient jobs filled by locals, a group of about 40 villagers from Toya Pakeh village on Nusa Penida Island attacked the docking pontoon of Quicksilver Cruises on Monday, October 21, 2002.

According to executives of the cruise company quoted in the Indonesian language Bali Post, the Monday attack damaged dressing rooms on the pontoon and a banana boat and followed similar attacks 3 days before resulting in a fire on the companies sub-sea vessel.

During a dialog between the villagers of Toya Pakeh and the managers of Quicksilver, village chiefs demanded that 80% of the jobs generated by the day cruise operation be exclusively reserved for local residents of the small island visited by the boat and that a local "donation" to the village cooperative paid by the company be increased 50%.

While readily agreeing to increase the size of their donation, the Cruise Company insists the 80% employment figure is impossible for them to fulfill citing job and technical qualifications for many of the positions required by the sea-tourism operator and the fact that many of the positions in question are controlled by company sub-contractors.

Following the recent spat of attacks by the villagers, the dialog with village elders have ended and the owning company of Quicksilver have requested police protection in the face of mounting threats and increasingly violent actions by local villagers on Nusa Penida Island.

According to press reports, no arrests have yet been made by the authorities in connection with the mob attacks on the property of the cruise operator.

Hold The Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers Cancel Bali Gig.

Following the implementation of travel advisories for U.S. citizens traveling to Bali, the world renowned Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced the cancellation of the mid-December 2002 performance in Bali.

The hard rock group of U.S. musicians well known for, among other things, performing on stage in their underwear, cited the U.S. State Department advisory as the basis for canceling their scheduled December 14, 2002 show at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana park.

Bali was to have been the last stop on the group's 2002 tour following stops in Singapore, Manila and Bangkok.

A December 8, 2002 show scheduled for Manila, Philippines has also been scratched due to security considerations.

More information: Red Hot Chili Peppers Web Site

BIWA Bazaar Postponed

Major Event on Local Calendar Latest Bombing Victim.

The Bali International Women's Association (BIWA) Annual Bazaar is the latest victim of the October 12^th terrorist attack.

The annual event, organized by the association of international women living in Bali, is a major source of revenue for many local charities and consistently draws thousands of visitors for a day filled with local entertainment and merchandise sales organized in booths set up by local companies and organizations.

The 9^th BIWA Bazaar originally scheduled to be held on November 3, 2002 has been postponed until March of 2003, on a date yet to be confirmed by the organizers.

More information: BIWA Website