Bali at a major crossroad, needs real action
Bali at a major crossroad, needs real action
Bali will celebrate its anniversary on Aug. 14. The country's top tourist destination, Bali is facing numerous problems ranging from its ruined image as a safe holiday destination for global tourists to acute economic, social and environmental problems. In conjunction with this event, The Jakarta Post's Rita A. Widiadana and I Wayan Juniartha explore the roots of the problems in the following reports.
When presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a debate in Bali with wide cross-section of people involved in Bali's tourist industry, he could only suggest standard textbook solutions to the problems faced by hotel and restaurant owners, tour operators and airlines regarding the downturn of tourism in Bali and in Indonesia, in general.
Separately, the incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri was reluctant to comprehensively explain her vision for a national policy on tourism, one of the country's prominent non-oil foreign exchange earners.
According to Putu Agus Antara, chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), the current government and future leaders still have no idea about the gravity of problems faced by people in the local tourist industry. "The leaders have no real and feasible platforms or action plans for the development of a healthy and profitable tourist industry," he added. Most people in the industry need real action rather than paper-based programs.
"We are dying now and we need instant and potent `recipes' to survive," Antara said.
For Indonesia in general, and Bali in particular, tourism has become one of major foreign exchange earners and economic backbone supporting the island's economy.
Before the 2002 Bali bomb tragedy, the number of tourists visiting the country amounted to 5.1 million per year generating around US$5.3 billion. Investment in tourist-related businesses in 2001 reached Rp 16.5 trillion
For Bali, tourism has been the island's top foreign-exchange generator providing significant incomes and job opportunities for 30 percent of the island's workforce since the l980s. The island enjoyed a robust economy thanks to tourism, but then came the decline in worldwide tourism with Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the U.S., followed by the Bali bombing on Oct. 12, 2002, the SARS outbreak thereafter and the Iraq war, all of which directly or indirectly crippled tourism in Bali.
The hotel occupancy rates dropped to between 10 percent and 15 percent. Hotels, airlines and travel agents had to cut their rates and fares in order to lure back nervous visitors to Bali. The number of unemployed workers increased drastically causing serious social tension.
Although the industry is starting to show some positive signs of rebounding a bit, Bali is still suffering. BTB's data reveals that around 1.3 million visitors came to Bali in 2003, but that should increase when the 2004 numbers are tallied.
A number of airlines from Singapore, Thailand and Japan have maintained their direct flights to Bali. Kuala Lumpur-based Air Asia has recently opened a direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and Denpasar with very low rates.
Tony Fernandez, Group CEO of Air Asia, confirmed that the new route was showing signs of profitability. "Bali still is a magnet for Asian visitors, especially for Malaysians," he said.
But the number of tourist arrivals has not yet recovered and Bali still has quite a lot of vacant hotel rooms. "Compared to hotel rates in the world's other tourist destinations, Bali might be the cheapest. With around US$50 to $100, you can stay at the island's best resorts," Antara explained.
With such low rates and rocketing bank interest rates, hotel owners and investors are now struggling hard to survive. Only those that are part of large, international chains can still manage their businesses.
The newly-opened Conrad Hotel in Benoa is one of the most lucrative tourist establishments in Bali. According to Anastasya Lijadi, the hotel's marketing and communication director, the occupancy rate of the hotel, which had a soft opening in May, averages around 90 percent.
But, there are hundreds of star and non-star hotels across Bali, which have to work hard to meet the increasing operation costs and the decreasing number of guests, especially European and American tourists who stay longer than Asian tourists.
Visa policy
I Gusti Agung Prana, chairman of Bali branch of the Indonesian Travel Agents Association (ASITA), blamed the central government for the worsening situation.
"The implementation of a ($25) Visa on Arrival Policy early this year has put foreign visitors off, especially those coming from the countries (mostly ASEAN), which are not granted visa- free facilities," he said.
Agung Prana said that such a devastating policy had had a dramatic impact on the island's travel agents. "Many of us have had to close down. Some have only put their companies' names on the billboards. Actually, they no longer have clients," he complained.
In order to understand the real impact of the visa policy, Bali Tourism Board in cooperation with Bali Hotel Associations (comprising 56 star hotels in Bali) has launched a comprehensive survey involving 10,000 visitors to Bali starting from July through August this year.
Upon check-in at any Association's member hotel, guests are offered a simple questionnaire to complete. The survey collects data including personal data, how visitors' visas were obtained and more importantly their reactions to the visa policy.
"While many have speculated on the impact of the new visa policy, we are now gathering the hard data directly from visitors. Only Bali has made an effort to do an accurate survey," commented Antara.
Robert Kelsall, chairman of Bali Hotel Association, stated before that "the survey is our response to the government's request for the industry's reaction to this visa policy."
The result of the survey will be announced by the end of August and may be used as a means to make suggestions to the central government.
But, according to Professor Ida Bagus Adnyana Manuaba, chairman of Bali Human Ecology Study Group, a think-thank group consisting of professionals of diverse backgrounds, it would be difficult to convince the (central) government's bureaucrats.
"I don't believe that the visa policy will increase our sense of nationalism as stated by the initiators of the policy. It really ruins the image of Indonesia, in general, and Bali in particular," said Manuaba, also a consultant on tourism and sustainable development projects.
"Those who initiated the policy do not understand the tremendous impacts on the economy, the tourist industry and the people who depend on tourism to earn a living. Not to mention, all of its indirect effects," he added.
Amazingly, it was after the Bali bombing and the tourist downturn that the government decided on such a ridiculous policy.
"What we had to do at that time was to install highly- effective metal detectors in Ngurah Rai airport, harbors and hotels in Bali and other parts of Indonesia and enforce necessary security measures to convince international visitors," Manuaba said.
All the specially scheduled cultural and music events as well as international conferences failed in their bid to make international travelers feel that Bali was safe. "Those things was just a waste of time, money and energy," he said.
Decentralization
In Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia, a tourism policy must involve local people. But, he also warned about the danger of the regional autonomy (decentralization) policy, which went into effect in 1999. The policy allows more responsibility and power to be transferred from the central to provincial and regional governments.
Some regents in Bali are now going completely insane, said Manuaba. "One of them wanted to develop luxury resorts and a geothermal power plant in a protected national park. Another wants to build a place like Singapore's Sentosa Island complete with lines of glittering malls and a casino," complained Manuaba.
The Study Group, he said, has identified some major problems including weak law enforcement, improper and unfair policies, a lack of coordination and a shortage of capable human resources. These problems have to be solved immediately in order to prevent Bali from experiencing further social, cultural, economic and environmental damage.
"We need a strong and open-minded leader who is capable of implementing policies, enforcing the laws and acting in the interests of the Balinese people as well as safeguarding the island. If that were to happen, Bali could become a role model for other tourist destinations in Indonesia," he said.