Travel ban to Indonesia logical: Ardika<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Tourism I Gede Ardika said
\non Monday travel advisories issued by some countries for their
\ncitizens to delay travel plans to visit Indonesia during May and
\nJune were fully understandable.<\/p>\n
Ardika said it was common for governments to advise its
\ncitizens to exercise care during visits to overseas countries or
\nnot to travel in certain areas.<\/p>\n
\"It is a government's responsibility to provide the right
\ninformation to its citizens and it's a citizen's right to obtain
\nguidance from its government. So let's not overreact on this,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Some countries, including Great Britain, United States,
\nAustralia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Thailand and Belgium,
\nissued travel advisories in relation to campaign activities from
\nMay 19 through June 4 and the election date scheduled for June 7,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"But they are only recommendations, not a ban,\" Ardika said.<\/p>\n
The Australian travel advisory issued on April 14 told
\nAustralians traveling to Indonesia to be aware of a likelihood of
\ncontinuing public disturbances and political demonstrations in
\nJakarta and other centers in the country, which have the
\npotential to turn violent without warning.<\/p>\n
Travel advice and warnings issued by the Ministry of Foreign
\nAffairs of Japan currently implement the Level 2 category, which
\nis a recommendation to defer non-essential travel, such as
\nsightseeing; advises residents in Indonesia to use due caution;
\nand advises sightseeing travelers to consider immediate departure
\nfrom the country.<\/p>\n
Other countries that recently issued travel advisories and
\nplanned necessary action regarding the scheduled campaign and
\nelection period are South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan.<\/p>\n
The South Korean government has reportedly arranged special
\nflights from Jakarta to Seoul from May 20, when the school
\nvacation starts here.<\/p>\n
AFP reported the South Korean embassy here would also set up
\nan emergency evacuation plan for its citizens amid fears of
\nviolence similar to that of last year, when massive violent riots
\nin May broke out in major cities in the country, forcing former
\npresident Soeharto to step down and end his 32-year rule.<\/p>\n
The Philippines government reportedly recommended an immediate
\nevacuation of some 2,500 Filipinos working and living in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
From Taipei, Taiwan's foreign ministry spokesman Wu Yuan-yen
\ncalled for Taiwanese in Indonesia to mind their safety and keep
\nin touch with the representative office in Jakarta, DPA reported.<\/p>\n
Hence, The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has notified travel agencies
\nto suspend sending tours to Indonesia, except to Bali, in May,
\nJune and July.<\/p>\n
Ardika said the fact that some areas in the country were prone
\nto riots, especially in relation to campaign and election
\nactivities, was undeniable and would certainly affect the tourism
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture projected the number
\nof foreigners to visit Indonesia to decline between 319,700 and
\n364,100 in May from the estimated number in April between 324,700
\nand 366,800 due to the start of the campaign period.<\/p>\n
The number of foreign visitors in June was projected to
\nincrease slightly to 368,000.<\/p>\n
Ardika said he was upbeat that the flow of inbound visitors,
\nespecially to Jakarta, would meet the minimum target thanks to
\nthe influx of foreigners expected to visit the country to see the
\ncampaign and election activities.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't matter that they are here as election observers or
\njournalists. They are still inbound tourists for us because they
\nstay in hotels and buy souvenirs, which bring profits to the
\ntourism industry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the ministry was trying to mend Indonesia's security
\nimage for foreign markets by cooperating with foreign travel
\nwholesalers in promoting tourism packages to Indonesia, inviting
\nforeign travel operators and writers and disseminating
\ninformation through the media. (cst)<\/p>",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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