Bali to drop glamorous celebrations from agenda
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
This Saturday night, the opulent Ritz-Carlton Hotel chain in Jimbaran, Bali, some 15 kilometers south of Denpasar, was scheduled to host Indonesia's rich and famous during its anniversary celebration.
An extravagant fashion show, dubbed Fashion Fusion, was carefully well-planned to display the latest creations of Los- Angeles-based designer Tadashi and several local big names like Adjie Notonegoro, Carmanita, Kiata Kiwanda and jewelry designer Suarti.
Preceded by a champagne party, the hotel's planned gala dinner would have become one of Bali's most captivating events of the year.
It was scheduled well before the Oct. 12 bombing which deeply distressed the Balinese people, Australians and other nations whose citizens fell victims to the tragedy.
Paul Czuba, the hotel's director of sales and marketing, said in a statement that the hotel did not consider it appropriate to hold such a glamorous event while the entire island was still grieving.
"Instead, we would really like to invite people to attend a special prayer for the victims of the bombing," Czuba stated.
The Ritz-Carlton's Fashion Fusion is just one of a dozen of entertainment events scheduled to take place between October and December -- the high season in Bali when thousands of domestic and foreign visitors were expected to spend their holidays here. Local organizers have geared up to promote the now canceled concert of American rock group the Red Hot Chili Peppers, scheduled to be on stage at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana on Dec. 26, as well as an International Fireworks competition, originally scheduled between Dec. 29 through Jan. 2.
In the last few years, Bali, previously known as Indonesia's safest place, has hosted numerous local and international conferences, exhibitions, arts and cultural activities.
Last May, Bali successfully organized the United Nations sponsored Preparatory-Committee (Prep Com) IV for Sustainable Development conference.
Levie Martin, public relations manager at the Bali International Convention Center (BICC), explained that there were several events to be held at BICC this month but were postponed for indefinitely.
"Before the bombing, Bali gained its credibility as a perfect place for business and pleasure. Now, we have to revise our schedules," Levie said.
The prospects for the convention business or MICE in Bali will likely remain gloomy unless the perpetrators of the Kuta terrorism are revealed and brought to justice.
People in the country's tourism industry, however, were quick to act in a bid to try to reverse a possibly bleak situation.
The State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, for instance, has coordinated with the country's related tourism industry to set up strategic and comprehensive recovery plans. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Dorojatun Kuntjoro-Jakti confirmed on Monday that national-scale conferences and meetings would be moved to Bali.
Elsewhere, other encouraging news has come about.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a leading travel and tourism association in the Pacific and Asian region that recently canceled its conference in Banten, has said it is strongly committed to assisting the ministry of tourism and the local Balinese tourism industry to overcome the Bali bomb crisis and begin to develop a recovery plan.
Peter Semone, vice president of PATA, said during his stay in Bali when the bombing occurred on Oct. 12, that the organization was committed to the creation of a tourism recovery task force comprised of tourism experts from around the world.
"PATA plans to continue with its intention to hold the 2003 Annual Conference in Bali in April 2003. It is hoped that as many as 1,500 tourism leaders from around the world will attend, " confirmed Semone.
PATA was set up in l952 to grow and enhance travel and tourism in the Pacific region. Today, PATA has a global network to serve the interests of tourism in the world's fastest growing tourism region.
As a collaborative public sector membership-based organization, it has approximately 1,000 members worldwide, including 60 governments, 60 regional government agencies, tour operators, educational institutions. PATA has more than 80 chapters around the world. PATA is headquartered in Bangkok (Thailand) and has regional offices and representative offices in Sydney, Monaco and Oakland in California.