Beleaguered Bali feeling ill effects from outbreak

Beleaguered Bali feeling ill effects from outbreak

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The country's number one tourist destination has been blindsided
by the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

It has come as yet another blow to Bali, still reeling from
the bombings that hit nightspots in Kuta last October and the
inevitable drop in visitors due to the recent war in Iraq.

The chairman of the Bali Recovery Program, I Gusti Alit Putra,
said it would take a miracle to help the tourist industry rebound
anytime soon.

"This is the hardest period in the last 30 years. In Bali, the
tourism and hotel industry have been the main economic pillars,"
said Alit Putra, who is also the province's deputy governor.

"It has a huge multiplier impact on the people's economic
situation."

About 1.2 million of the island's 3 million population work in
tourism-related enterprises, including as travel agents,
handicraft and souvenir producers, hotel suppliers, artists and
farmers supplying produce to hotels and restaurants.

The chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of Travel
Agencies (ASITA), I Gusti Agung Prana, agreed that the impact of
SARS was crippling, especially as many on the island felt they
were on the road to recovery earlier this year.

In January, the travel industry reported an increase in
reservations from international clients, Agung Prana said.

"Many of them were beginning to forget the bomb incidents and
had regained their confidence in Bali as a safe tourist
destination," he added.

Even during the war in Iraq, visitors from European countries
and the Asia Pacific were returning. Then came reports of SARS in
March and April, which "destroyed everything", he said.

The chairman of the Bali chapter of the Hotel and Restaurant
Association, I Gde Wiratha, said fears about SARS would be hard
to dispell.

"In my opinion, many of us (in the hotel, travel and
restaurant industry) will not be able to survive if the condition
persists for the next six months," Wiratha said.

Several five-star hotels operating in Nusa Dua, Kuta and Sanur
currently report only 25 percent room occupancy, which is not
enough to maintain their high operational costs.

"Imagine a five-star hotel with more than 600 rooms that is
only occupied by 30 to 50 guests," Wiratha said.

"A hotel is doing well if its room occupancy reaches at least
40 percent."

Four- and three-star hotels are surviving, with between 40
percent and 60 percent room occupancy. "The saddening thing is
around 800,000 people are now employed in the hotel and travel-
related business," he said.

Some hotels have cut operational costs by allowing their
employees to take annual or unpaid leave. Others have introduced
15-day work months.

Travel agents are also enduring tough times.

"Many of us have stopped operations, especially those who have
clients from Taiwan, China and Japan," said the owner of Terima
Kasih Indonesia Tour and Travel Enterprises, Eddy Sunyoto.

Some have sold their offices or company vehicles to stay in
business.

Many argue that the government must do more to help Bali,
which generates 30 percent of the country's estimated US$6
billion in foreign exchange revenue from tourism.

"We know that the government has a large agenda and is now
cash-strapped. However, we urge the government and the banking
industry to help," Agung Prana said.

Most companies have depleted their savings to keep afloat over
the past seven months.

"We really need fresh funds to continue operating, as well as
debt rescheduling, to avoid bankruptcy," Agung Prana said.

However, Bali has also benefited from the outbreak of SARS.
Some organizers moved events from China or Hong Kong to Bali.

Director of operations at Bali International Conference Center
(BICC) Alex Riva said the organization had taken steps to educate
its employees about SARS.

In April, at the height of the SARS scare, BICC hosted the
52nd Annual Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) conference,
with more 900 delegates from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and
Africa.

"It was a successful conference even amid fears about SARS.
Nobody was wearing masks, although there were delegations from
affected countries," Alex said.

BICC has since hosted other major conferences, and Alex said
they proved to be positive experiences.

"The majority of my clients didn't show they were afraid of
the SARS threat. They didn't even mention the trial of the Bali
bombing suspects," he said.

"I'm pretty confident that Bali will again become a favorite
destination for business and leisure (travel), as soon as the
trials are over and if SARS is handled carefully," he said.

Agung Prana said the government and the tourism industry must
lobby the World Health Organization (WHO) for official
verification of the country's SARS-free status.

"If Canada, which has several SARS victims, could get a SARS-
free certificate, Indonesia should work hard to convince WHO to
issue that certificate, otherwise our tourism industry will die
soon," he said.