Honeymooners shun Bali after carnage<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Bali bomb blast that claimed at least 190 lives has
\nprompted many would-be honeymooners from Jakarta to cancel their
\ntrips to paradise island because of security concerns.<\/p>\n
\"I canceled my honeymoon to Bali once I heard about the
\nbombing in Bali two weeks ago. I think the situation in Bali is
\nnot as fun as before the tragedy, not to mention the heightened
\nsecurity concerns,\" said Deborah Adriana, a resident of Tomang,
\nWest Jakarta, who is going to be married on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Deborah said she had already gathered information from travel
\nagencies about tourist destinations in Bali and had planned for
\nall the costs of her honeymoon, before having to cancel the
\nplans.<\/p>\n
Instead of Bali, she now plans to travel to Pantara island in
\nthe Thousands Islands.<\/p>\n
Similarly, two other would-be honeymooners, Erry and Santi,
\nwho will also get married on Sunday, said that they had planned
\nto spend 10 days in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"We simply changed our itinerary to Lombok (island) instead,\"
\nsaid Erry, a resident of Bintaro in Tangerang regency, who works
\nas a lawyer.<\/p>\n
Duma of the Byoma Tour and Travel agency said that more than
\n80 percent of honeymooners had canceled their trips to Bali in
\nthe aftermath of the bombing there.<\/p>\n
In the two weeks since the bombing, Duma said only one couple
\nhad booked a flight for Bali, while before the attack between
\nthree and four honeymooners traveled to Bali every week through
\nher agency.<\/p>\n
Ari, a marketing officer for the Media Tour and Travel agency,
\nsaid no one was traveling to Bali for leisure at the moment.<\/p>\n
\"Most of those who are traveling to Bali right now are going
\nfor business,\" said Ari.<\/p>\n
Ari said ticket and hotel reservations for Bali had dropped by
\n70 percent.<\/p>\n
\"We used to get more than 100 people a month making
\nreservations for Bali. But by the end of this month, we have only
\nmanaged to book less than 30,\" said Ari.<\/p>\n
Ari also said some groups of foreign tourists bound for Bali
\nhad canceled their trips following the explosion.<\/p>\n
\"We used to get bookings from groups of foreign tourists of
\nbetween 15 and 25 people every week. But in the aftermath of the
\nBali bombing all the groups have changed their itineraries,\" Ari
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ari said some hotels and airlines in Bali had started to offer
\ndiscounted rates.<\/p>\n
Garuda is offering discounted rates of up to 40 percent for
\ngroups traveling to Bali and 25 percent for individuals.<\/p>\n
\"Even individual tourist now can enjoy discounted rates on
\ntour packages, such as only Rp 1.2 million for accommodation at
\nthe Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta and airfare,\" Ari said, adding that
\nbefore the bombing the accommodation alone hovered at about Rp
\n1.4 million per night.<\/p>\n
However, Grace Utomo, the tour manager at Vaya Tour and Travel
\nagency, said the impact of the Bali bombing could still not be
\ndetermined.<\/p>\n
\"Demand in October and November is relatively low due to the
\nfasting month of Ramadhan. We will be able to assess the impact
\nof the Bali bombing in December,\" Grace said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/honeymooners-shun-bali-after-carnage-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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