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.