Bali's tourist industry focuses on new markets

Rita A. Widiadana, I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

After the global economic slowdown in 2001, Bali's tourist industry has begun to pick up again and is now hosting a number of national and international conferences.

Starting May 27 through to June 7, Bali is hosting a major United-Nations sponsored meeting called the Preparatory Committee (Prep-Com) IV for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which involves no less than 6,000 participants from across the world, an effective promotion in itself for this tourist island.

Bali's deputy governor Alit Putra was happy. "Bali is likely to benefit from such an event," he said, during a recent press briefing here.

The participants are staying at hotels in Nusa Dua, Jimbaran and Kuta. Even in Nusa Dua, all hotels are fully booked. Hotel management and their employees are gearing up to welcome important guests.

Levi Martin, public relations manager of the Bali International Convention Center and Sheraton Nusa Indah, said that convention business had enlivened Bali's tourism sector.

"You can imagine, in only one event, we can involve so many employees, catering services, travel agencies, rental car companies. This means that our economy is starting to run well," he said.

Deddy Sasmita, public relations manager of Discovery Kartika Plaza in Kuta, agreed that convention activities including national, regional and international meetings have contributed a lot to the survival of Bali's tourist industry. "Bali is a beautiful and safe place for conventions," he said. The hotel hosted the Bali International Fashion Week, an Asian meeting on forestry and other events.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York last year, the global tourist industry suffered huge losses. Airline companies, hotels, restaurants, and related industries were waiting in anguish for foreign visitors brave enough to travel by air.

Five star hotels in Nusa Dua, exclusive villas in Ubud, luxury hotels and cafes in Kuta were all quiet. Some hotels had even closed down part of their facilities in order to cut operational costs. The occupancy rates of the majority of star hotels were between 20 percent and 40 percent during that slow period.

Travel agencies suffered and received series of cancellations from their clients.

Bali, which relies economically on tourism, suffered badly. American and European travelers who always spend their holidays in Bali disappeared. Japanese tourists were hardly seen in Kuta.

I Gede Pitana, head of Bali's tourist agency, was startled and confused but was quick to take action.

"We have to find alternative markets to replace the loss we suffered from the drastic decline of American and European tourist arrivals. China and Asian markets are the most feasible alternatives," he added.

The United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan have been the traditional tourist markets for Bali. But Asia Pacific countries actually contributed up to 70 percent of the total amount of direct foreign tourist arrivals in Bali. Around 350,000 Japanese tourists arrive each year, while Australia is second with 250,000 annual visitors.

The Sept. 11 tragedy inflicted a heavy toll on Bali's tourist industry with the overall number of direct foreign tourist arrivals decreasing by 4.9 percent in September 2001, as compared to the same month in 2000. In October, it decreased by 25 percent, and the worst took place in December when it decreased by 33 percent.

The U.S. market recorded the sharpest decline, with an average decrease of 70 percent during those months. Meanwhile, the Japanese market was down by 14 percent," he said.

In total, the number of direct foreign tourist arrivals in Bali during 2001 was down by 4.7 percent to 1,355,282 tourists compared to 1,412,839 a year before.

In 2002, it is expected that Bali could receive between 2.7 and 3 million visitors.

The government of Bali, along with officials from tourist- related industries, have taken several steps to tap new markets including China, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and India.

"We have already received a positive response from those markets. In March 2002, China's foreign minister and the Chinese National Travel Authority (CNTA) officially announced Indonesia as a tourism destination for Chinese travelers."

He projected that Bali in 2002 would be able to attract up to 200,000 visitors from China, which was a steep increase from 1,767 recorded in 2001.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (ASITA) in Bali, IGB Yudara, stated his readiness to accept visitors from China. Thirteen travel agents out of 300 have passed all the government-issued mandatory requirements to handle Chinese travelers. Currently, there are only 65 travel agents in Indonesia that are qualified to handle Chinese travelers. One of the mandatory requirements is that each travel agent must have at least five Mandarin-speaking tour guides.

India is another potential market. Last April, a top delegation from Bali, including Governor Dewa Beratha, attended the 51st PATA conference in New Delhi.

"India and Bali possess similar religious and cultural backgrounds. We have sought the possibility to tighten the relationship with the Indian government in tourism, culture and education."

In addition to these new markets, Bali is also focusing on domestic travelers, especially during school holidays, Christmas and New Year.

The year 2002 could become an optimistic period for the island. The present Prep-Com IV meeting is a test case for Bali. If it is successful, other international bodies may also consider Bali a potential meeting place.