Ardika downplays impact of travel warnings on tourism
Ardika downplays impact of travel warnings on tourism
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika
downplayed on Monday the impact of travel warnings issued against
Indonesia.
The minister said the tourist industry should not be overly
concerned with the issuance of travel advisories by the
governments of Taiwan and Britain as they were merely reviews of
previous warnings.
He said the warnings had nothing to do with the recent
escalation of antigovernment protests in the capital and in other
parts of the country.
Ardika said the warnings were not new and that both
governments had issued the warnings long before the recent
protests began.
"At the first sign of political turbulence in Indonesia,
several countries issued travel warnings," Ardika was quoted by
Antara as saying.
He said that in issuing travel advisories, most countries took
into consideration the degree of seriousness of the situation.
He said many countries employ a flexible travel advisory,
citing as an example Japan, which divides the seriousness of its
warnings into seven categories.
"A category one travel advisory is the lightest warning from
the Japanese government, and gets more serious as the categories
go up," Ardika said without stating under which category
Indonesia falls.
Travel advisories are part of a government's obligation to
help ensure the safety of their citizens, he said.
"The travel advisory from the British government is in fact
very detailed, and does not generalize the whole of Indonesia,"
Ardika said, adding that the advisory listed areas such as Bali
and Yogyakarta as safe.
Businesspeople from Indonesia's tourist industry raised
concerns recently over the issuance of the travel warnings by
Taiwan and Britain.
Feisol Hashim from the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant
Association said the warnings would further decrease the number
of tourists coming into the country.
"The issuance of a travel warning is not new, but we are
worried that it will have an impact on the number of tourists
visiting Indonesia," Feisol, who is also the deputy chairman of
the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board, said.
Association of Indonesian Travel Agencies chairwoman Meity
Robot also warned the travel warnings would reduce the number of
tourists visiting Indonesia.
She said that although the impact might not be instantaneous,
unless immediately revoked they would influence the future travel
destinations of tourists.
Several governments, including the U.S., have issued
advisories warning their citizens against traveling to Indonesia.
(tnt)