Bali protects its tourist appeal
Bali protects its tourist appeal
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Blue Lagoon and Suddenly Susan's star
Brooke Shield just ended her two-week honeymoon with her new
husband in a luxury villa in Bali.
Veteran rock star David Bowie and his supermodel wife Iman are
frequent visitors to this resort island, and have even reportedly
built an exclusive residence in the area.
The flourishing hotel and restaurant business in Bali also
show that the political turmoil in the other parts of the country
has little impact on Bali as it is still a safe and attractive
place to spend your holiday or run a business.
"Occupancy rate at our hotel is about 80 percent," claimed
Sukasarinadi, public relations officer of Bali Hilton in Nusa
Dua.
Grand Bali Beach Hotel's public relations manager Ninuk
Witaningsih agreed that people were still flocking to Bali.
"I think most of our guests are not affected by the political
crisis in Jakarta. They just want to spend their holiday enjoying
the beauty of this island," Ninuk said.
In the heart of Kuta, hundreds of tourists shop for the latest
fashion items or dine at the various cafes serving Balinese and
international cuisine.
According to Hard Rock Hotel's marketing communication
coordinator Lucia Dwicahyani, the hotel was fully booked last
month.
"This shows there was no down turn in tourist arrivals despite
the recent political crisis," Lucia said.
Tourism and business activities in the island has been running
smoothly, says head of the Bali tourism office Gede Pitana.
"Most visitors have become accustomed to the political and
social disturbances in Indonesia," Pitana said as quoted by the
Nusa daily.
Some countries, he admitted, had earlier imposed travel bans
on their citizens wanting to visit the country, especially
Jakarta.
"But now, many foreigners have realized that Bali is quite far
from Jakarta. Some of them do not even realize that the island is
part of Indonesia," Pitana said.
Newlyweds Ron Wood and Mary from Melbourne, Australia were
enjoying their time in the island.
"I think Bali is wonderful. Of course, we have no plan to
visit Jakarta at the moment. But when everything is OK, we would
like to visit Jakarta and other cities in Java. We have some
friends there," said Ron at a cafe in Kuta.
Australian consular in Bali Ross Tysoe recently said he and
his staff had been keeping a close eye on the political situation
in Jakarta. "But, in Bali everything is quiet and still safe," he
said.
Still, the provincial government of Bali is working hard to
ensure the island remains safe.
For instance, during the recent political crisis, the
authorities tightly guarded Ngurah Rai International Airport in
Kuta and Gilimanuk Port in West Bali, which connects East Java
and Bali.
State electricity company PT PLN had also anticipated the
worst where the power supply might be disrupted.
"Electricity is important for households and industries in
this tourist island. If something goes wrong with the
distribution system, it will cripple all activities," said the
manager of PLN's strategic business units, Tri Agus Cahyono.
(raw)