Australia tourism players support Bali recovery<\/p>\n
Rita A.Widiadana and I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post,
\nSanur, Bali<\/p>\n
Despite the travel advisory imposed by the Australian government,
\nthat country's travel and tourism industry leaders, currently
\nmeeting in the Sanur resort area, have expressed their full
\nconfidence in Bali's market and indicated that significant
\nmarketing of the destination would commence soon.<\/p>\n
John King, a spokesman for the delegation and a consultant at
\nGavin Anderson & Company, said after concluding the four-day
\nmeeting, that the time had arrived for Bali to increase its
\npresence in the Australian market.<\/p>\n
\"We all recognize that what happened in Bali is the most
\nserious problem confronting any destination in the modern history
\nof world tourism. In effect, it was an attack on world tourism
\nand this unprecedented problem will require an unprecedented
\nresponse,\" King said.<\/p>\n
The gathering, which started Feb. 22, involved major tourism
\nand travel industry players in Australia with the aim of
\ndiscussing initiatives to increase visitor numbers to the island,
\nto inspect improvements to safety, security and health services,
\nand to experience the real condition of Bali after the Oct. 12
\nterrorist attack.<\/p>\n
Among the participants were representatives of: Australian
\nTourism Task Force, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Council of
\nAustralian Tour Operators, International Tourism Training
\nServices, Harvey World Travel, Australian MICE Industry, Qantas
\nAirways, Qantas Holidays, Garuda Indonesia, Air Paradise
\nInternational, Flight Center, San Michele Travel\/Indonesia Travel
\nCenter, and New Horizons Holidays.<\/p>\n
The meeting was also attended by Senator for South Australia
\nAlan Fergusson, Federal Member for Cook Bruce Baird, Federal
\nMember for Curti Julie Bishop, Austrade, the Australia Indonesia
\nBusiness Council, the Embassy of Indonesia in Canberra and the
\nIndonesian Culture and Tourist Agency (ICTA).<\/p>\n
\"Bali is still a very sensitive issue in Australia and many
\nhave memories of immense sadness at this time. However, many
\nmillions of Australians do have fond memories of Bali,\" King
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Last year's Oct. 12 bombing of two nightclubs, the Sari Club
\nand Paddy's Cafe, in the glittering Kuta tourist haven claimed
\naround 202 victims, 82 of whom were Australians.<\/p>\n
Since the attacks, the Australian government has imposed a
\ntravel advisory against traveling to Bali and other destinations
\nin Indonesia, mainly for security reasons.<\/p>\n
Bali is a favorite holiday spot for many Australians,
\nespecially young travelers who love surfing and other water
\nsports. A short-distance and low-cost holiday was the driving
\nfactor in their choosing Bali.<\/p>\n
In the five years before Oct. 12, 2002, as many as one million
\nAustralians spent their holidays in Bali, and their number was
\nonly second to Japanese tourists. After the bombings, however,
\nthousands of Australians were forced to cancel or to postpone
\ntheir trips to Bali indefinitely. In addition, the rigid travel
\nadvisory made Bali a less desirable holiday destination, although
\ntourists continued to trickle in, many to pay homage to the site
\nof the bombings and in memoriam of the victims.<\/p>\n
It is now four months after the bombings, and Bali is once
\nagain growing in demand among Australians as a holiday
\ndestination.<\/p>\n
\"The Australian Travel Industry stands ready to commence the
\nmarketing of Bali with the Indonesian government, the Bali
\nregional government and Indonesia's travel industry,\" said a
\ncommunique issued at the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Senator Alan Fergusson mentioned that it was hard for the
\nAustralian government to lift the present travel advisory.<\/p>\n
\"We are here to see for ourselves the impact of the travel
\nadvisory on the island's tourism industry. It would be possible
\nfor us to review it again if we found it seriously affecting the
\nindustry and the people as well,\" the senator said.<\/p>\n
King added that, \"We (the Australians) have to accept that
\ntravel advisories will be around for some time in today's
\ninternational climate, and that the position of foreign
\ngovernments must be respected.\"<\/p>\n
Travel advisories, he said, were not the sole barriers to
\ntravel to Bali and that a sense of safety and security, as well
\nas a holiday atmosphere, rated more highly in the minds of
\npotential travelers.<\/p>\n
In the communique read out on Monday morning, all delegates
\nrecognized that the Indonesian authorities had made significant
\nsteps towards improving safety, security and medical services.<\/p>\n
\"If necessary, we could arrange General Pastika (chief of Bali
\nbombing joint investigative team) to visit Australia and to
\nexplain Indonesia's efforts in dealing with the Bali bombing case
\nand its suspects, so that all people in Australia will hear
\ndirectly from him,\" proposed one participant.<\/p>\n
However, the delegation urged the Indonesian government and
\ntourism authorities to work cooperatively with their judicial
\nsystem to ensure that the exposure of the alleged perpetrators of
\nthe October attacks was minimized, as it was causing enormous
\ndistress and ongoing negative publicity for Bali in Australia and
\nin the international arena.<\/p>\n
The recent broad news coverage in both print and electronic
\nmedia of the Bali bombing suspects, including Amrozi and Ali
\nImron's gross insensitivity in regards the victims and their
\nfamilies, have caused a furor among the public in Australia,
\nespecially the victims' families.<\/p>\n
\"Such news coverage really hurt many people in Australia and
\nwill prevent them from visiting the island,\" King said.<\/p>",
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