Australians cancel Bali bookings<\/p>\n
DENPASAR (JP): Hotels in the country's main tourist
\ndestination, Bali, reported on Thursday some cancellations by
\nBali-bound Australians, amid growing anti-Australian sentiment in
\nmost parts of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Although several star-rated hotels on the island made the
\nclaims, they described the cancellations as normal and
\n\"insignificant\".<\/p>\n
The assistant to the public relations manager at the Grand
\nHyatt in Nusa Dua, Maria Maringka, said on Thursday only a few
\ntourists had canceled their Bali visits.<\/p>\n
\"So far, we have received six cancellations, most of which
\ncame from Australians. But we're still optimistic about the
\noccupancy rate in the months ahead, as no cancellations have been
\nmade for reservations made for October and November,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Anti-Australian sentiment is growing in Jakarta and other
\nparts of the country, especially in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan,
\nwhich hosts many Australian mining companies.<\/p>\n
Australia's two biggest resources and mining groups, Broken
\nHill Proprietary Co. and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) have started
\npulling staff and their families out of Indonesia, as tensions
\nbetween the two countries build over East Timor.<\/p>\n
Other Australian companies with Indonesian operations are also
\nputting contingency plans together, while others are discouraging
\ntravel to Indonesia and maintaining a close watch on
\ndevelopments.<\/p>\n
Australian visitors accounted for about 30 percent of Bali's
\n1.2 foreign visitors last year.<\/p>\n
Public relations manager of the Sheraton Nusa Indah, Lisa
\nHalim, said the cancellations at the hotel were insignificant in
\ncomparison to new bookings.<\/p>\n
\"We are receiving about five cancellation notes per day,
\nmostly from Australians and Europeans who are worried about the
\nsecurity here. But the number is nothing compared with between
\nthe 100 to 150 new bookings we receive per day,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Hoteliers said the tense relationships between the two
\ncountries had so far not affected room occupancy rates.<\/p>\n
Maria said 85 percent of the total 659 rooms in the Grand
\nHyatt were occupied, while Lisa said the Sheraton Nusa Indah was
\ncurrently fully booked.<\/p>\n
Public relations manager of the Ritz Carlton in Jimbaran, Nike
\nKurnia, said a few cancellations were in fact welcomed by the
\nhotel, because the hotel was currently inundated with tourists,
\nand the occupancy rate stood about 102 percent.<\/p>\n
Hoteliers said, however, they remained cautious about the
\npossibility of a dramatic drop in the number of inbound tourists
\nif anti-Indonesia sentiment increased by the international
\npublic. Many said they were carrying out strategies to respond to
\nclients' concerns.<\/p>\n
Lisa said the Sheraton Nusa Indah tried to ease the anxiety of
\npotential visitors concerning the situation here in a variety of
\nways. She said the hotel sent out up-to-date information about
\nthe political situation, and a map of Indonesia so that
\ninternational tourists could have an accurate and clear picture
\nof their tourist destination.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an Australian travel agent, the New South Wales-
\nbased travel agent for Great Adventure Holidays denied on
\nThursday a report that claimed the company was boycotting
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Michael Hill, destination manager of Great Adventure Holidays'
\nrepresentative office in Bali, said the company had not even
\nconsidered taking such action.<\/p>\n
He was commenting on a report published on Thursday in The
\nJakarta Post about the Indonesian Inbound Tour Operators Club's
\nconcern over a boycott by two Australian travel agents, referred
\nto as Great Adventure and Harvest.<\/p>\n
\"What happened is that our chief executive stated in his
\nletter to Alwi Baria of our ground handler here, Pacto Ltd., that
\nthe Australian Travel Industry was discussing the boycott of
\nIndonesia,\" he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"There was at no time information mentioning that Great
\nAdventure Holidays was putting a boycott on Indonesia,\" he added.
\n(50\/cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australians-cancel-bali-bookings-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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