Balinese ill-prepared for crises<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The ongoing dysentery fiasco has, once again, underscored the
\ninability of the island's government agencies and the tourist
\nindustry to handle a crisis in a responsible and effective
\nmanner.<\/p>\n
When on Nov. 23 international and Taiwan media outlets began
\nrunning news of 25 Taiwanese tourists who contracted dysentery in
\nBali, a local high-ranking tourism official quickly dismissed the
\nnews.<\/p>\n
\"Don't worry, there has not been any outbreak of cholera in
\nBali,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The official was either misinformed or simply could not
\ndistinguish between cholera and dysentery, two distinctively
\ndifferent intestinal infections.<\/p>\n
This denial gained currency when the head of the local health
\nagency, Molin Yudiasa, joined the chorus, claiming that it was
\nnot a case of dysentery but a mild gastrointestinal problem
\ncommonly found in Bali.<\/p>\n
However, when he was pressed by journalists, Molin admitted
\nthe health authorities had not completed the sample-collection
\nprocess, or finished the necessary laboratory tests on samples
\ntaken from various restaurants.<\/p>\n
Although obviously based on assumption rather than scientific
\nfindings, Molin once again reiterated there was no dysentery when
\nquestioned by a group of Taiwanese journalists who came to Bali
\nto investigate. No wonder the journalists were not impressed by
\nthe explanation.<\/p>\n
At about the same time, The China Post reported that the
\nnumber of confirmed dysentery cases in Taiwan had risen to 42 and
\nanother 24 people who had visited Bali had developed dysentery-
\nlike symptoms. All of the infected were members of 13 groups that
\npurchased tour packages to Bali and returned to Taiwan by Nov.
\n22.<\/p>\n
Denial was not the only response government agencies, the
\ntourist industry and the local media could offer. Shifting the
\nblame was the second favorite response, with themes ranging from
\n\"Why did only the Taiwanese suffer from this problem while
\ntourists from other countries did not?\" and \"You know that the
\nTaiwanese are careless about the kind of food they eat and the
\nplaces where they eat\", to \"The Taiwanese have weaker stomachs
\ncompared to the Balinese, who can handle spicy food without any
\nproblems.\"<\/p>\n
This lame response was further aggravated by the obvious
\ncommunication breakdown between the tourist industry,
\nparticularly those in the industry involved in handling Taiwanese
\nvisitors, and the government health authority.<\/p>\n
This breakdown was evident in the fact that health authorities
\ndid not begin collecting food and water samples from suspected
\nrestaurants until Nov. 28, five days after the first reported
\ncase, because, as Molin said: \"We found difficulties in
\npinpointing the restaurants that served the Taiwanese visitors.\"<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, samples had been taken from at least 17
\nrestaurants all over the island. So far, the health authorities
\nhave finished testing samples from six restaurants, of which only
\none was found to be free from any bacterial contamination.<\/p>\n
The rest were identified of having unspecified levels of
\nEscherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.<\/p>\n
Although not the cause of dysentery, E. coli can cause
\nintestinal problems.<\/p>\n
The laboratory test on samples from 17 restaurants are
\nexpected to be completed on Saturday. Equipped with the results
\nof the tests, the head of the Bali Tourism Authority, I Gde
\nPitana, will fly to Taiwan sometime next week, about half a month
\nafter the first reported case of dysentery.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the denial, pointless finger-pointing, the lack
\nof a scientific, evidence-based response and the broken line of
\ncommunications and coordination to some extent have damaged the
\nimage of Bali tourism, particularly in Taiwan.<\/p>\n
This could have been prevented or at least contained with a
\nwell-coordinated, straightforward and swift response.<\/p>\n
An example of this damage was, as reported by The China Post,
\nthe tourism boycott against Indonesia called for by the Taiwan's
\ninfluential Consumers' Foundation because of the response of the
\nIndonesian media to the dysentery outbreak.<\/p>\n
The Taipei Times reported that at least 100 Taiwanese had
\ncanceled trips to Bali, some switching to Phuket, Thailand.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 12 Bali bombings, the SARS epidemic, the Iraq War and
\nthe dysentery outbreak have shown that the local government and
\nthe tourist industry are ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with
\na crisis.<\/p>\n
A recently published report by the APEC International Centre
\nfor Sustainable Tourism underlined the need for each and every
\ntourist destination to have an established and well-maintained
\ntourism risk management system to deal with possible crises and
\ndisasters.<\/p>\n
Quoting a few of the report's recommendations, in the
\noccurrence of a health crisis, officials and institutions should
\n\"monitor hospital admissions involving tourists, be honest and
\ntransparent, act fast, remember the victims and avoid speculation
\nand categorical reassurances\".<\/p>\n
Bali's administration and tourist industry should begin to
\naddress this issue. The island cannot afford another uncontrolled
\ncrisis.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/balinese-ill-prepared-for-crises-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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