Bali pleads for Australian tourists

Bali pleads for Australian tourists

PERTH, Australia (AFP): Tourist officials from the Indonesian
island of Bali claimed Sunday Australians had nothing to fear on
the holiday resort.

Jonathon Harris, spokesman for a group seeking to stimulate
the Bali tourist trade, said although news from Timor had been
negative, Australians had no reason to fear for their safety.

"If visitors have concerns about safety they have nothing to
worry about as Bali remains unaffected by problems being
experienced in other areas of Indonesia," Harris said.

"However, if people have chosen not to go to Bali because of
some sort of political statement then it is sadly misguided
because the impact is to take income away from the people who
most need it at a time when it is most critical," Harris said.

Luther Barrung, regional director of tourism, art and culture
in Bali, said Balinese did not blame Australians for the crisis
in East Timor.

"The Balinese have made enormous efforts during these
difficult times to ensure that Bali remains the safe and friendly
holiday destination that it has always been," he said.

Some travel agents in Australia, the main market for Bali's
key tourism industry, have diverted customers to holidays
elsewhere.

"We're not boycotting Bali," Peter Hansen, Australian
spokesman for leading travel agent Thomas Cook, said last week.
"That's too harsh a word. If people want to go to Bali, we'll
book people to Bali.

"(But) there are plenty of other alternatives to Bali," he
added, saying the company's concerns were partly for safety
reasons but also "partly from a moral perspective."

Meanwhile, the Bali Tourism Office said in Denpasar that
Australian tourists visiting Bali dropped by about 20 percent to
234,780 in September from 287,733 in August.

The head of the office, I Gusti Agung Mega, said the drop was
considered normal and was not the result of strained relations
between the neighboring countries.

The September figure was much higher than the 17,000
Australian tourists who visited Bali in the same month last year.

Anti-Australian sentiment remains high in many of Indonesia's
major cities, with continuing demonstrations against Australia's
involvement in East Timor. (03)