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)