Bali promotion to go ahead in NZ

Bali promotion to go ahead in NZ

NEW ZEALAND: A group of Bali tourism operators visiting New Zealand to seek business said on Sunday they wanted their promotional tour to go ahead despite the latest deadly bombings on the Indonesian resort island.

Eighteen representatives of Bali Village, a non-profit organization representing almost 200 tourism-affiliated industries on the island, are in Auckland as part of an Australasian tour.

The group of mainly hoteliers and tour operators said the bombings had forced a rethink of their planned presentation to New Zealand tourism industry representatives.

Speaking through representative Maman Baboe, the group said they were keen to push ahead with their scheduled meeting, although in a revised format.

Baboe, who manages the web portal indonz.com, said the group was assessing its options.

About 1,500 New Zealanders travel to Indonesia each month, mostly to Bali, but there have been no reports of New Zealanders caught in Saturday's bombings that killed at least 26 people. -- AFP