Australians cancel Bali bookings

Australians cancel Bali bookings

DENPASAR (JP): Hotels in the country's main tourist
destination, Bali, reported on Thursday some cancellations by
Bali-bound Australians, amid growing anti-Australian sentiment in
most parts of Indonesia.

Although several star-rated hotels on the island made the
claims, they described the cancellations as normal and
"insignificant".

The assistant to the public relations manager at the Grand
Hyatt in Nusa Dua, Maria Maringka, said on Thursday only a few
tourists had canceled their Bali visits.

"So far, we have received six cancellations, most of which
came from Australians. But we're still optimistic about the
occupancy rate in the months ahead, as no cancellations have been
made for reservations made for October and November," she said.

Anti-Australian sentiment is growing in Jakarta and other
parts of the country, especially in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan,
which hosts many Australian mining companies.

Australia's two biggest resources and mining groups, Broken
Hill Proprietary Co. and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) have started
pulling staff and their families out of Indonesia, as tensions
between the two countries build over East Timor.

Other Australian companies with Indonesian operations are also
putting contingency plans together, while others are discouraging
travel to Indonesia and maintaining a close watch on
developments.

Australian visitors accounted for about 30 percent of Bali's
1.2 foreign visitors last year.

Public relations manager of the Sheraton Nusa Indah, Lisa
Halim, said the cancellations at the hotel were insignificant in
comparison to new bookings.

"We are receiving about five cancellation notes per day,
mostly from Australians and Europeans who are worried about the
security here. But the number is nothing compared with between
the 100 to 150 new bookings we receive per day," she said.

Hoteliers said the tense relationships between the two
countries had so far not affected room occupancy rates.

Maria said 85 percent of the total 659 rooms in the Grand
Hyatt were occupied, while Lisa said the Sheraton Nusa Indah was
currently fully booked.

Public relations manager of the Ritz Carlton in Jimbaran, Nike
Kurnia, said a few cancellations were in fact welcomed by the
hotel, because the hotel was currently inundated with tourists,
and the occupancy rate stood about 102 percent.

Hoteliers said, however, they remained cautious about the
possibility of a dramatic drop in the number of inbound tourists
if anti-Indonesia sentiment increased by the international
public. Many said they were carrying out strategies to respond to
clients' concerns.

Lisa said the Sheraton Nusa Indah tried to ease the anxiety of
potential visitors concerning the situation here in a variety of
ways. She said the hotel sent out up-to-date information about
the political situation, and a map of Indonesia so that
international tourists could have an accurate and clear picture
of their tourist destination.

Meanwhile, an Australian travel agent, the New South Wales-
based travel agent for Great Adventure Holidays denied on
Thursday a report that claimed the company was boycotting
Indonesia.

Michael Hill, destination manager of Great Adventure Holidays'
representative office in Bali, said the company had not even
considered taking such action.

He was commenting on a report published on Thursday in The
Jakarta Post about the Indonesian Inbound Tour Operators Club's
concern over a boycott by two Australian travel agents, referred
to as Great Adventure and Harvest.

"What happened is that our chief executive stated in his
letter to Alwi Baria of our ground handler here, Pacto Ltd., that
the Australian Travel Industry was discussing the boycott of
Indonesia," he said in a statement.

"There was at no time information mentioning that Great
Adventure Holidays was putting a boycott on Indonesia," he added.
(50/cst)