JP\/18\/JAPAN<\/p>\n
Tourist industry urged work hard to win back Japanese market
\n
\nWahyoe Boediwardhana
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Denpasar<\/p>\n
The Dec. 26 tsunami that struck Aceh and North Sumatra in
\nIndonesia and other countries in Asia and Africa, including
\nThailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, has had a dramatic impact on
\ntourism in affected areas.<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that Aceh and North Sumatra are miles away
\nfrom Bali, Indonesia's top holiday destination, the tsunami
\neffect on the tourist island has been very significant,
\nespecially on the number of tourist arrivals.<\/p>\n
Many people involved in the island's tourist and hospitality
\nindustry are very anxious about the tsunami's impact on their
\nbusinesses. They are afraid the economy will sharply drop,
\nsimilar to the post-bombing period in 2002.<\/p>\n
They have a point since many potential visitors and major
\noverseas travel agents, especially from Japan and other large
\nmarkets, receive no explanations or up-to-date information on the
\nmost recent situation in Bali and other tourist destinations in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
"It was expected that the Indonesian as well as the Balinese
\nprovincial authorities would immediately inform international
\ntravel agents and tourism authorities about the situation," said
\nTakimoto, one of a group of representatives of 106 major Japanese
\ntravel agencies, as well as journalists, during a recent study
\ntour of Bali organized by Bali-based Air Paradise.<\/p>\n
The airline organized the four-day educational tour in order
\nto provide first-hand information on tourist activities on Bali.<\/p>\n
"Many clients in Japan lodged questions about the safety of
\nvisiting beach resorts on Bali. Most of them did not see any
\nsafety system along beaches that could prevent the area from
\npossible tsunami-like disasters," he said.<\/p>\n
Junaidi Januar, vice chairman of Bali Rasa Sayang, the Bali
\nTourism Committee for the Japanese market, regretted the fact
\nthat the Indonesian and Balinese governments were slow to send
\nout precise information on whether the tsunami disaster also
\naffected Bali and other areas in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"Almost all Japanese visitors raised similar questions and
\nwere worried about possible post-tsunami health outbreaks," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
So far, Japanese people have obtained information on the
\ntsunami from international television stations such as CNN
\nInternational and BBC World and international wire services like
\nReuters and AFP.<\/p>\n
"Japanese tourists have been very cautious about security,
\nsafety and health issues. Although Japan has been frequently hit
\nby tsunamis, its people would prefer to cancel their trip to any
\naffected area if the country could not guarantee their safety,"
\nJunaidi said.<\/p>\n
Potential visitors have frequently heard about outbreaks of
\ncholera in Aceh and North Sumatra and other possible health
\nproblems caused by thousands of unburied, decomposing bodies.<\/p>\n
"These issues are very sensitive to Japanese tourists," he
\nmaintained.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government was considered too slow to inform
\nthe wider world about the real situation in the country. "The
\ngovernments and the tourism authorities of Thailand and Malaysia
\npromptly advised their counterparts internationally that their
\ncountries were taking serious measures to deal with the effect of
\nthe tsunami," he said.<\/p>\n
Roy Y. Hasegawa, director of operations of PT Japan Travel
\nBureau (JTB), revealed that Bali was still attractive to many
\nJapanese visitors and, therefore, its security and safety must be
\nproperly maintained.<\/p>\n
Hasegawa pointed out that based on data printed by Kazumitsu
\nKonishi, general manager of Air Paradise in Japan, around 70
\npercent of female Japanese tourists preferred to spend their
\nholiday in Bali as compared to other destinations like Singapore,
\nThailand, Australia, South Korea, the United States and European
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
About 35 percent of Japanese tourists to Bali are twenty-
\nsomething females and males, 28 percent are in their 30s and the
\nremainder are in their 40s and 50s.<\/p>\n
The spending power of Japanese visitors to Bali is quite
\nconsiderable. Some 35 percent of Japanese visitors spend between
\nUS$500 and $1,000, and 20 percent around $1,000 to $1,500 per
\nfive-to-six-day stay.<\/p>\n
Gede Nurjaya, head of Bali Tourism Agency, responded that the
\nBali governor had informed the international world that the
\nisland of Bali was quite far from Aceh (about a three-hour
\nflight).<\/p>\n
The four-day educational tour was expected to provide clear
\nand precise information to the Japanese tourist industry as well
\nas the country's media about the actual situation in Bali, which
\nhopes to attract at least 1.7 million tourists in 2005.<\/p>\n
However, the road is still very rough and a lot effort must be
\nmade by both the island's tourist industry and the provincial
\ngovernment in a sincere attempt to convince Japanese visitors --
\nas well as holidaymakers from other countries -- that Bali is
\nstill worth a visit.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18japan-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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