Bali tourism will remain Australians' tropical polyground: Experts
Bali tourism will remain Australians' tropical polyground: Experts
Neil Sands, Agence France-Presse, Sydney
Bali's iconic status as a tropical playground for young Australians will rise from the ashes of the car bomb that killed scores of holidaymakers, travel experts said Tuesday.
Labeling predictions that Bali was finished as one of Australia's top international tourist destinations as "naive," industry insiders said numbers were likely to bounce back within months.
About 200,000 Australians a year flock to the Indonesian island paradise, providing the backbone of Bali's economy and an important income source for the archipelago.
A spokeswoman for the Indonesian airline Garuda said flights out of Australia to Bali were still "one-third to half full" of tourists and only about 20 percent of bookings for October had been canceled since the attack.
"Obviously its early days yet but it's not as bad as we expected," she said.
FlightCentre marketing general manager Alissa Pollock said New York's experience after last year's Sept. 11 attacks showed tourist numbers began to recover after six months and the process would probably be quicker in Bali.
"I was in New York earlier this year and it was the same destination as it was two years ago but now there was a new tourist site -- it's as brutal as that," she said.
Pollock said Bali is so entrenched in Australian hearts that they would return there after travel warnings issued after the bombing were lifted.
"It's a fantastic tourist destination right on Australia's doorstep," she said.
"The market will be soft for a while but with increased security from the Indonesians a lot of Australians will feel comfortable traveling there and say 'bugger it, I'm not going to be put off'."
"I think a bit of the brazen Aussie spirit will come through."
Her comments were backed up by a surfer in Sydney who believed now was the time to visit Bali and rediscover the tropical paradise that became a mecca for Australian board riders in the 1970s.
"All the boys down at Bondi (beach) this morning were talking about getting over to Bali. They reckon the airfares will be cheap and there'll be no-one there," said the 42-year-old Sydney man.
"The waves will be empty and they don't reckon they'll be in any danger."
Sydney newlyweds Craig and Karen Ashworth traveled from Sydney to Bali on their honeymoon the morning after the blast and were also sanguine about the danger, according to Craig's mother Pat.
"When I spoke to them there was only one other couple at the resort in Nusa Dua and they were having a very relaxing time," she told AFP.
Sue Smith, managing director of student travel agency STA travel, said on average the outlet had experienced only one cancellation per shop.
"In terms of the Australian public, we are prolific travelers, we are resilient travelers," she said.
"In the short-term it may take some people away but I think it will come back."
But Tony Wheeler, founder of the budget traveler's bible Lonely Planet travel guides, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper this week the attack would stop Bali tourism "stone dead".
Lonely Planet advised on its website Monday that travelers halt plans to travel to Bali until more was known about who caused the blast.
It described Bali as the "glittering jewel in the deteriorating crown of Indonesia".