BALI UPDATE #329 - 06 January 2003

An Event-Full Non-Eventful Change of Year

Peace and Non-Stop Parties Prevail as Bali Welcomes in 2003.

The Country's President and Vice President, seven members of the President's Cabinet, top named national and international performing artists, and tens of thousands of tourist visitors spent their New Year holidays in Bali in what was officially hailed as an East-West Collaboration of Peace. And, true to its name, massive beach and street parties marking Bali's "good-bye" to what was, by anyone's standards, an annus mirabilis, passed without major incident. Despite dire warnings by foreign embassies of the dangers in celebrating the New Year at local pubs and restaurants, the greatest danger prevailing that Tuesday night was the chance you might not secure a table for dinner in any restaurant in Kuta.

One popular, large Kuta beach-front restaurant reported sales in a single night equivalent to the turnover of the last two months combined. Such was business on the last day of 2002; and, sadly, such was business over the last two months following the October 12^th bomb attacks.

Two back-to-back nights of live concerts on December 30 & 31, held at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park and on Kuta Beach, were witnessed by capacity crowds and broadcast to the entire nation via AN-TEVE.

Despite the best efforts by police to divert traffic around downtown Denpasar and Kuta Beach – sites of the two open concerts held on New Year's Eve – traffic quickly ground to gridlock as crowds began sweeping into the area starting from mid-day.

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2002, President Megawati Sukarno Putri ascended the performance stage on Kuta Beach to strike the Gong marking the start of 2003.

In scenes reminiscent of a Brazilian Mardi Gras, the party continued on for thousands until the dawn of the next morning.

Thousands of police in cooperation with volunteers from local village banjar's cooperated to maintain the peace and good feelings among revelers flowing throughout the night. Understandably, their efforts to keep traffic flowing met with considerably less success.

Oh, what a night!

Air Paradise Set to Take Off

Bali's First Airline Now Says February 16^th Start Date a Certainty.

Air Paradise International - the bold start-up airline operation of Bali businessman Kadek Wiranatha, now appears certain to commence operations of flights between Bali and Australia on February 16, 2003. Earlier reports that the Airline's first flights would be delayed until the currently adverse travel warning for Indonesia from the Australian Government were modified have now been dismissed by Air Paradise's management who say the airline will definitely start to fly in February, come what may.

International flight schedules between Australia and Bali and also domestic schedules between Bali and Jakarta will remain as originally planned with four flights per week between Perth and Bali and three times per week between Melbourne and Bali.

Parade of Artists?

Top Performing Artists Rumored to be Bali Bound.

Following the successful appearance of a number of international performers in conjunction with the Bali for the World concerts over the 2002-2003 New Year's celebrations, the local Indonesian language newspaper, DENPOST, reports that a committee member from the "East and West Collaboration Concert," who coordinated year end concert events on Bali, has indicated that a number of exciting concert programs may be soon coming to Bali. Among the musical groups roumored to be waiting in the wings for Bali appearance date at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (GWK) include:

The Red Hot Chili Peppers originally slated to appear in December in Bali but cancelled due to the October terror attack, this group is now expected to perform in Bali on an unspecified date in April of 2003.

Josh Groban and David Foster are reportedly expected in May. The young singing sensation, discovered and trained by world-class composer-conductor David Foster, will reportedly appear at GWK in a mixed concert of serious and pop music supported by a full symphony orchestra.

F4 - the 4 Taiwanese boy band is said to be scheduled for a February date in Bali.

Luciano Pavarotti - the notoriously on-again-off-again tenor is also said to be coming to Bali sometime in 2003.

Hard to believe?

Whether any or all of these top entertainers will materialize on a Bali stage remains a matter of some speculation.

Stay tuned to balidiscovery.com for confirmation and information on important concert dates scheduled for Bali.

Barbara Peisert on Bali

TUI's Queen of Contracting Spends Her Holidays in Paradise.

One of Bali's most welcomed guests over the just past Christmas and New Year Holiday period was well-known international travel personality Ms. Barbara M. Peisert, the Chief of Planning and Long Haul Travel for the powerful TUI group.

Eager to give a personal imprimatur to efforts to revitalize travel to Bali, Barbara, a key decision-maker at the world's largest travel group paid Bali the special compliment of deciding to spend the holiday with her many friends and admirers on the island of the gods.

Bali and TUI Remain Inseparable

Visited by the local press during her stay, Barbara was quoted in the local Bali Post as vehemently denying any rumors that TUI was considering dropping Bali from its coming brochure of tour offerings. Saying such reports were "absolutely false", she said her current visit to Bali gave the chance to see first-hand the situation on the ground and demonstrated there exists no reason for her company not to sell Bali to its clients.

When asked what Bali should do to speed its recovery as a world tourism destination, Barbara suggested that it might best use the current quiet interlude to upgrade and repair public facilities - such as cleaning and repairing its beaches, placing the island in a strong promotion position once it's time to resume heavy promotion.

Barbara on Security

When quizzed on security, Barbara encouraged the Government in its ongoing efforts to enhance overall safety and security on the island, emphasizing the need to perhaps promote less visible safety measures over the high-profile and heavily armed presence at ports which have the potential of frightening away visitors.

Wait and See

In her interview with local press, TUI's Contracting Boss felt confident that once foreign governments lifted the current travel advisories for Indonesia, Bali would quickly regain its commercial footing. According to the report of the interview in the local press, Barbara Peisert said TUI's traffic to Bali is down some 50% in the wake of the October 12^th terror attack on a local night spot.

At the same time, according to the report, she admitted that the speed at which travel to Asia will recover would have to be completely reassessed if President George Bush pushed ahead with plans to invade Iraq.

Ambassadors to Bali's North

Minister Ardika Leads Special Tour to North Bali for Jakarta-Based Diplomats.

Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism, I Gde Ardika, personally escorted a group of foreign ambassadors and their families on a 3-day tour of north Bali December 28-31, 2002.

Minister Ardika, who himself hails from the Buleleng area of Bali, took an obvious pride in demonstrating both the safety and the many undiscovered tourism potentials of north Bali to his group of distinguished guests.

Arriving on Saturday, December 28, the group was accommodated at the Menjagan Jungle and Beach Resort and Matahari Beach Resort where they experienced jungle trekking, bird watching, and horse back tours in the vicinity of Bali's West Bali National Park. On Sunday the group visited the beach and water sports areas of Pemuteran, the Buleleng Museum, and the Gedong Kirtya housing Bali's extensive collection of ancient lontar-palm books. On the last day of their tour the special guests of Minister Ardika traveled along the northeast coast of Bali, visiting the sacred temples of Pura Beji and Pura Ponjok Batu.

The Forgotten North of Bali

While the north coast is often neglected by modern visitors, this area was, in fact, the original gateway to Bali for the island's first tourist visitors in the days before scheduled air service. In the 1920's and 1930's passengers arriving by ship all disembarked at Bali's northern capital of Singaraja, traveling overland to stay in the Bali Hotel in the southern capital of Denpasar. Accordingly, Singaraja also played the role as the commercial center of Bali and the chain of lesser Sunda Islands, supporting an active commerce in inter-island and international trade.

The ambassadors and family members joining the Minister's tour of the North included representatives from Sweden, North Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia, China, the Philippines, and South Korea.

Lower Tourism Targets for 2003

Both Less Tourists and Less Forex Projected for Coming Year.

Both the "best case" and the "worst case" scenarios for projected tourist visitors to Indonesia in 2003 offer little cause for joy and provide continuing testimony to the woes affecting national tourism confronted with the after-effects of the Bali terror attacks of October 12^th.

The optimistic "best case" projects total international visitors in 2003 to achieve only 4.56 million people bringing with them US$ 3.2 billion in foreign exchange earnings. This is equal to a decline of 17% in total visitors from the already downwardly revised projections for 2002 - a setback that has erased almost ten years growth in in foreign arrivals.

Government tourism officials, including Mr. Setyanto P. Santosa, the Chairman of the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Promotion Board (ICTPB), are quick to caution that even these projections may worsen if current efforts to revive the tourism industry are badly coordinated.

As a result, the Government is also releasing a cautionary "worst case" scenario that would see only 3.8 million foreign visitors laying out a paltry US$ 2.7 billion in tourism-related spending. These figures show just how quickly tourism fortunes have changed for an industry once represented as a power-house for foreign exchange generation and counted upon to earn in excess of $5 billion in much needed foreign currency each year.

A World of Vastly Different Demographics

Indonesia's new reliance on short-haul regional traffic has also had a predictably deleterious effect on both the level of average spend and the length of stay for foreign visitors. In the absence of well-healed European and U.S. visitors on extended holidays in the Country, average spendings per day are projected to drop from US$ 110 per day to just US$ 100, while length of stays will be truncated from 10 to only 7 days.

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire?

With many banking on Bali's recovery to be in full swing by the second half of 2003, some observers express concern that any "remission" may be short-lived. National elections scheduled for Indonesia in 2004 are expected to bring an increase in political tensions nationwide and with them the strong possibility of at least a temporary decline in the country's attractiveness for foreign guests while national succession issues are sorted out.

2003 Brings Higher Energy and Communications Costs

Electricity, Telephone and Fuels Price Hikes Mark the Start of New Year.

Any lingering celebratory spirit marking the start of the New Year may have been extinguished, in part, by price hikes introduced by the Government for electrical power, telecommunications and fuel prices.

Fuel Prices

On midnight of the first day of the new year substantial fuel price hikes were introduced at the State oil company - Pertamina's gas pumps. Claiming higher world-wide crude oil prices blamed on continuing civil strife in Venezuela and the lingering threat of war in the Middle East together with the removal of government subsidy programs, a liter of premium now costs Rp. 1,810 (approximately US$ 0.21); diesel fuel Rp. 1,890; and kerosene for industry Rp. 1,970.

The old price for premium fuel stood at Rp. 1,750, with the new price representing an increase of 3.4%. The largest increase in fuels costs will be felt for diesel up 22-23%; and kerosene for industry up 29%.

Electrical Rates

Base electrical rates are also expected to increase in 2003 at an average 24%, causing the manufacturing sector to express their concerns over the long term competitive viability of producing goods in Indonesia. Electrical costs will also prove especially burdensome on Bali hotels expecting very low occupancy rates over the first quarter of the year in an industry still trying to shake off the lingering effects of last October's bomb attack.

As a palliative, the Government has promised to introduce the 24% increase in a phased manner, promising a hike of only 6% in the first quarter of the year.

Higher Local Phone Costs As Well

A chat with your neighbor on the phone will also cost substantially more in Indonesia in 2003. Local calls now cost 31% more while long distance charges will, in fact, be reduced 3.9%.

Dial 911 for Rescue

Bali to Soon have Coordinated Emergency Response Center?

Bali may have a "Dial 911" emergency response center if current plans being promoted by the Foundation for Public Safety (YLKMI) are successful.

Mr. Eddy S. Tjokronegoro, the Executive Director of the YLKMI, told the Indonesian language BISNIS Indonesia that has lined up investors prepared to provide initial funding of US$ 4 million for the project if Bali's Governor provides official endorsement for the project.

The initial funding will reportedly be used for communication equipment and personnel training. According to the press report, a total of US$ 70 million will be needed to fund the first three years of full operation for the proposed Emergency Response Center.

A Word of Caution

balidiscovery.com will confirm when and if the 911 service is officially up and running.

Dialing "911" before then will result in the caller getting only a dial tone.

Upgrade for Bali's General Hospital

Major Donation Promises Higher Standards for Bali's Sick and Injured.

In a ceremony presided over by Indonesia's Minister of Health, Ahmad Sujudi, and the Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Laksamana Sukardi, Rp. 56 billion (approximately US$ 6.4 million) was handed to Bali's Sanglah General Hospital to help establish an international standard medical facility for the Island.

In partial fulfillment of a promised made by Minister Sukardi at the Bali Memorial Concert held on November 15, 2002, that Bali would soon be the site of a world class medical center, the donation was received by Sanglah's President Director, Dr. IGN Lanang M. Rudiartha, in a ceremony at the hospital held on Monday, December 30, 2002.

The funds were comprised of Rp. 50 billion donated by local business groups and an additional Rp. 6 billion from the State Budget.

In delivering the fund to Bali's main hospital, the Minister of Health said that despite the praise heaped on Sanglah Hospital by international agencies for their heroic efforts following the terrorist attack of October 12^th, those working at the facility must be the first to admit that their current resuscitation and restoration capabilities fell below international standards. The badly needed funds will be used to accelerate the ongoing efforts to upgrade Bali's medical facilities and services.

The Sanglah General Hospital in Bali currently employs 167 specialist doctors and 200 nursing and paramedic staff. In recent years the hospital have established modern trauma and reproductive health centers, and a modern blood donor center donated by Rotary Clubs from the State of Michigan in the United States.

Also attending the ceremony marking the substantial donation for improving medical services was Mr. Taufik Kiemas, a Member of the Indonesian Parliament and husband to Indonesia's President.

Jet Skier Missing and Feared Drowned

Contestants in International Competition Lost at Sea.

An Indonesian participant in the Bali International Offshore 2002 Jet Ski competition is missing and feared dead following his disappearance during the event on Monday, 30 December 2002.

Competition was abruptly cancelled on Monday when a sudden storm descended on the race area, off the Nusa Dua Peninsula of Bali. Competitors from 10 countries returned to the starting point when visibility decreased due to heavy rains and rough seas brought by the storm front. However, failing to return to base were two Indonesian competitors, Rosyid (40) and Joko Herlambang (20).

On Friday, January 3, Rosyid was discovered alive and still aboard his drifting jet ski by a local fishing boat near Sumbawa island. Suffering from dehydration and exposure, authorities believe the 40 year-old jet ski enthusiast will make a full recovery.

An extensive sea and air search for the remain athlete has been unsuccessful in finding any trace of the missing man.

The Jet Ski Competition, part of the Bali for the World festivities offered prize monies of US$ 100,000.