Bali to drop glamorous celebrations from agenda

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.