Bali toursim fells the sting of anti-U.S. sentiment

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The September 11 terrorist attack in the United States has proven once again how interconnected the world has became. It has brought anguish, rage, disbelief and a sense of insecurity not only to the people of America, but to nations all over the world.

The smoke that billowed out of New York's World Trade Center (WTC) twin towers and the Pentagon has not only darkened U.S. skies, but has also overshadowed the world's skies.

This ominous cloud has descended on the prime tourist island of Bali. With a decrease in tourist arrivals, cancellations by prospective vacationers and growing anti-U.S. sentiment in the country, the Balinese have started to assess the impact of this on the backbone of the island's economy; the tourism industry.

"To date, our members have received cancellations from at least 6,000 clients, mostly from the U.S., Japan, Australia and Europe," the chairman of Bali's Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (ASITA) IGB Yudhara said.

Separately, secretary-general of Bali Tourism Board (BTB) Adnyana Sudibya disclosed that in September the number of tourist arrivals, which reached 134,415 people, had decreased by 7.4 percent compared to the previous month, and decreased 4 percent compared to the previous year.

"We lost around 5,000 tourists in September. But we are concerned the situation could fast deteriorate once an open war between Allied forces and the Taliban erupts," he said.

In the first ten days of October the number of tourist arrivals fell further with a 13 percent decrease. In just ten days, Bali lost another 5,000 tourists.

Sudibya argued the losses suffered now, would be recovered in December.

"In December we will gain a lot from domestic tourists since there will be three big holidays; Idul Fitri, Christmas, and New Year. So overall Bali's tourism industry will still profit this year," he assured.

Yet, that assurance was not enough for many people.

With chairman of Bali's Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) I Gede Wiratha announcing that Bali had suffered a 60 percent decrease in tourist arrivals and television stations rerunning footage of the collapse of the WTC and the U.S-led air raid on Afghanistan, many people still believed that Bali would soon experience a rerun of the Gulf War experience, when most of Bali's 30,000 hotel rooms were left vacant.

Adnyana Sudibya lamented the way some of Bali's key leaders in the tourism industry had responded to the crisis, urging them to restrain from making negative comments.

"Statements by these tourism figures will send the market into panic, resulting in a price war among our own hotels and tour operators. This will give our competitors a good chance to outrun us," he said, referring to Thailand that is launching a massive public relations campaign to underline its safety as a tourist destination.

Instead, Sudibya urged the tourism industry to act fast in conducting a recovery program. A top priority is market repositioning through which Bali must intensify its marketing efforts in Asia, instead of in Europe and the U.S.

"The European and American markets comprise only a 15 percent share of the total market. Japan has around five million potential vacationers each year. If we can attract some 100,000 more visitors from Japan we will be able to cover the loss from the diminishing European and American market; not to mention Korea," he said.

All of this needs constant and tireless effort and solid support from the local bureaucrats.

Sudibya envisions the Governor of Bali Dewa Beratha holding meetings with travel agents in Japan and Korea, to assure them that Bali was and is, in the words of the former chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Jack Daniel, "safe and different."

"That's the kind of support we need. The Japanese people are very paternalistic. They need reassurance from high-ranking government officials. I was informed that the Governor of Bali has agreed to do that," Sudibya told.

Meanwhile, at the grass-roots level the Balinese have expressed their intention to safeguard the tourism industry. Some 800 people organized by the Karangasem's Peoples Council (DPMK) staged a peaceful antisweeping rally in Bali, pledging to strongly oppose efforts by militant groups to harass foreigners in Bali.

Numerous traditional community organizations have put their pecalang (traditional guards) on high alert to anticipate any disturbance to local tourist sites.