Australia tourism players support Bali recovery

Australia tourism players support Bali recovery

Rita A.Widiadana and I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post,
Sanur, Bali

Despite the travel advisory imposed by the Australian government,
that country's travel and tourism industry leaders, currently
meeting in the Sanur resort area, have expressed their full
confidence in Bali's market and indicated that significant
marketing of the destination would commence soon.

John King, a spokesman for the delegation and a consultant at
Gavin Anderson & Company, said after concluding the four-day
meeting, that the time had arrived for Bali to increase its
presence in the Australian market.

"We all recognize that what happened in Bali is the most
serious problem confronting any destination in the modern history
of world tourism. In effect, it was an attack on world tourism
and this unprecedented problem will require an unprecedented
response," King said.

The gathering, which started Feb. 22, involved major tourism
and travel industry players in Australia with the aim of
discussing initiatives to increase visitor numbers to the island,
to inspect improvements to safety, security and health services,
and to experience the real condition of Bali after the Oct. 12
terrorist attack.

Among the participants were representatives of: Australian
Tourism Task Force, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Council of
Australian Tour Operators, International Tourism Training
Services, Harvey World Travel, Australian MICE Industry, Qantas
Airways, Qantas Holidays, Garuda Indonesia, Air Paradise
International, Flight Center, San Michele Travel/Indonesia Travel
Center, and New Horizons Holidays.

The meeting was also attended by Senator for South Australia
Alan Fergusson, Federal Member for Cook Bruce Baird, Federal
Member for Curti Julie Bishop, Austrade, the Australia Indonesia
Business Council, the Embassy of Indonesia in Canberra and the
Indonesian Culture and Tourist Agency (ICTA).

"Bali is still a very sensitive issue in Australia and many
have memories of immense sadness at this time. However, many
millions of Australians do have fond memories of Bali," King
said.

Last year's Oct. 12 bombing of two nightclubs, the Sari Club
and Paddy's Cafe, in the glittering Kuta tourist haven claimed
around 202 victims, 82 of whom were Australians.

Since the attacks, the Australian government has imposed a
travel advisory against traveling to Bali and other destinations
in Indonesia, mainly for security reasons.

Bali is a favorite holiday spot for many Australians,
especially young travelers who love surfing and other water
sports. A short-distance and low-cost holiday was the driving
factor in their choosing Bali.

In the five years before Oct. 12, 2002, as many as one million
Australians spent their holidays in Bali, and their number was
only second to Japanese tourists. After the bombings, however,
thousands of Australians were forced to cancel or to postpone
their trips to Bali indefinitely. In addition, the rigid travel
advisory made Bali a less desirable holiday destination, although
tourists continued to trickle in, many to pay homage to the site
of the bombings and in memoriam of the victims.

It is now four months after the bombings, and Bali is once
again growing in demand among Australians as a holiday
destination.

"The Australian Travel Industry stands ready to commence the
marketing of Bali with the Indonesian government, the Bali
regional government and Indonesia's travel industry," said a
communique issued at the end of the meeting.

Senator Alan Fergusson mentioned that it was hard for the
Australian government to lift the present travel advisory.

"We are here to see for ourselves the impact of the travel
advisory on the island's tourism industry. It would be possible
for us to review it again if we found it seriously affecting the
industry and the people as well," the senator said.

King added that, "We (the Australians) have to accept that
travel advisories will be around for some time in today's
international climate, and that the position of foreign
governments must be respected."

Travel advisories, he said, were not the sole barriers to
travel to Bali and that a sense of safety and security, as well
as a holiday atmosphere, rated more highly in the minds of
potential travelers.

In the communique read out on Monday morning, all delegates
recognized that the Indonesian authorities had made significant
steps towards improving safety, security and medical services.

"If necessary, we could arrange General Pastika (chief of Bali
bombing joint investigative team) to visit Australia and to
explain Indonesia's efforts in dealing with the Bali bombing case
and its suspects, so that all people in Australia will hear
directly from him," proposed one participant.

However, the delegation urged the Indonesian government and
tourism authorities to work cooperatively with their judicial
system to ensure that the exposure of the alleged perpetrators of
the October attacks was minimized, as it was causing enormous
distress and ongoing negative publicity for Bali in Australia and
in the international arena.

The recent broad news coverage in both print and electronic
media of the Bali bombing suspects, including Amrozi and Ali
Imron's gross insensitivity in regards the victims and their
families, have caused a furor among the public in Australia,
especially the victims' families.

"Such news coverage really hurt many people in Australia and
will prevent them from visiting the island," King said.