Blast sends Bali into economic woe
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali
Life will never be the same again for many Balinese people following the tragic bomb explosion on the island's most glittering nightlife strip along Jl. Legian in Kuta.
Suzy, a woman working in an art shop located just a few meters from where Paddy's and the Sari Club once stood, complained that her shop would be closed indefinitely while the investigation was underway.
"I don't know what to do anymore. I think I'll have to go back to my hometown of Malang (East Java)," she said.
Djodi, a taxi driver, shared her feelings. "No more guests, no more rice on the table."
Ni Wayan Tjandri, the owner of a handicrafts shop in Kuta, said she was encouraged to see some foreign visitors still coming in and buying one or two items from her shop.
"I hope not everyone leaves Bali. If that happens, it would be a disaster for our business. At the least, we hope that local tourists will continue to visit. We really depend on both local and foreign tourists," she explained.
The bombing, which killed more than 180 people, has scared away not only foreign tourists but also locals.
Famous beaches like Kuta and Seminyak, which are normally packed with tourists, are now deserted. So are other tourist destinations like Tanah Lot in Tabanan and the Bedugul highland resort.
Nevertheless, despite the horror of the bombing, some Western and Asian tourists, especially the Japanese, have braved and defied travel warnings from their governments and continued to visit Bali.
Some of them are to be seen around the bomb site and other areas in Bali.
These visitors have helped heal the wounds of the Balinese people and their economy. This has prompted the chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Travel Agents' Association (ASITA), I Gusti Bagus Yudhara, to especially thank them for their courage.
"They can share their experiences with their families and friends in their home countries and explain that Bali is not as scary as people think," Yudhara explained.
He said the bombing had badly affected the tourism industry. Therefore, any visits by foreign or local tourists would be very welcome indeed.
Following the bombing, ASITA surveyed the 10 largest travel agencies in Bali -- out of some 300 travel agencies operating on the island.
The survey revealed that all 10 travel agents had suffered cancellations of up to 50 percent of their bookings.
"You can imagine the impact of these cancellations on Bali's tourism industry," Yudhara said.
The Bali Tourism Office also revealed a similar gloomy picture. The office said that the hotel occupancy rate in Bali had dropped drastically from 70 percent on Oct. 12 (the date of bombing), to only 38 percent on Oct. 18.
More than 29,000 foreign tourists had left Bali since the Kuta tragedy, whereas only 11,759 visitors had arrived on the island since then.
To anticipate the worsening situation, the Bali Tourism Office, together with private tourism companies, including airlines, plan to launch special tourism packages for both domestic and foreign visitors.
Domestic airlines, including national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and its subsidiary Merpati Airlines are to offer special discounts for visitors coming to Bali for the Muslim holiday of Idul Fitri, Christmas and the New Year.
I Putu Agus Antara, chairman of the Bali Tourism Board, confirmed that the province's tourist industry would work extremely hard to promote Bali on both the domestic and overseas markets.
"But, for the time being it would be wiser to focus first on the domestic market," he said.
The bombing will not only affect tourism but also other sectors in Bali, such as real estate.
The deputy chairman of Bali's Real Estate Association, W. Sutama, predicted that sales of office buildings, shops, residential homes and villas in Bali would drop significantly.
"Most potential foreign buyers have canceled their purchases of property here indefinitely ... many of them have left Bali," he said.
He was not sure when Bali's economy would return to normal.
Learning from past experience gained from the rioting in Bali in 1999, it will take more than a year to restore Bali's social and business life to normal, and for the tourism industry to recover.
Bali, however, should not feel neglected. After all, the government and the international community have rapidly come to the assistance of the beautiful island.
The government has instructed all state companies, as well as encouraged private companies, to hold their corporate functions in Bali and send their employees there to help revive the island's tourist industry.
In addition, the central government has also promised to pour in around Rp 500 billion (US$54 million) for the reconstruction of the devastated Jl. Legian area and the provision of supporting infrastructure.
In addition, the World Bank (WB) has committed itself to providing US$30 million to help kickstart the province's social and economic revival.
As assistance starts to pour in, now is the right time for the Bali administration to prove to the world that it is trustworthy, capable and responsible in managing the financial assistance it receives.