Dark could hang over RI tourism after Bali bomb blasts

Dark could hang over RI tourism after Bali bomb blasts

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dark clouds are hanging over the country's tourist industry
following bomb blasts in Bali over the weekend that killed more
than 180 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Shocked by the incident, tourist industry officials and
experts see a bleak future for the industry, which has been one
of the key drivers of economic growth in the country during the
lingering economic crisis.

"Tourism has been one of the major foreign exchange earners
for Indonesia's economy during the crisis, especially Bali. But
after the blasts, our tourist industry is going to crumble" Suryo
B. Sulistyo, the head of the Tourism and Investment Division at
the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin), said as quoted by
Antara.

A similar forecast was given by Yanti Sukamdani Hardjoprakoso,
chairwoman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association
(IHRA), and Arivaldi Kumarga, the chairman of the Association of
Domestic Travel Agencies.

"I can't believe this happened while the hotel industry was
just starting to pick up," Yanti told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

According to Yanti, the industry had just started to revive
after feeling the pinch of the global tourism slump caused by the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. and the country's prolonged
economic crisis.

She said the average hotel occupancy rate in Indonesia is now
about 40 percent to 45 percent, compared to some 30 percent in
the early years of the economic crisis.

Bali, she said, had reached a 70 percent hotel occupancy rate.

Although Yanti said it was too early to predict the effect of
the bombings on the tourist industry, she indicated that it could
be severe because Bali is Indonesia's main entry point for
tourists.

Tourism is the second largest non-oil-and-gas foreign exchange
earner for Indonesia, after the textile and garment industry.

The industry contributed US$5.7 billion and $5.4 billion in
foreign exchange to the government's coffers in 2000 and 2001,
respectively. The industry also provides employment for about 12
million people.

Tourism began to pick up in 2000, three years after the
economic crisis hit the country. In 1999, there were only 4.72
million foreign visitors to the country. That number was slightly
up to 5.06 million in 2000 and 5.15 million in 2001.

Given the current situation, the government has set a modest
target this year for foreign tourist arrivals of between 5.4
million and 5.8 million. However, that target is now in question
after the Bali bomb blasts.

Bali tops the list of most popular tourist destinations in
Indonesia, with more than one million foreign tourists pouring
into the island of the gods every year.

For the last five years, while visitors avoided many parts of
Indonesia because of security concerns such as riots, communal
clashes, terrorism and attacks by radical Muslim groups, Bali
remained largely unaffected.

Shortly after the Saturday's bombing, the government of Japan
issued a travel warning to its citizen. Many Japanese citizens
have reportedly canceled planned trips to Bali.

Japan and Australia account for the most visitors to Bali,
with an average of 350,000 and 250,000 visitors respectively each
year.

Suryo of Kadin said the government's repeated denials of the
existence of terrorist networks in the country would only further
harm the already ailing tourist industry.

"We can't pretend that terrorism does not exist here. The bomb
blasts in Atrium and Cijantung, and now in Bali prove that
terrorism does exist," he said as quoted by Antara. Suryo
was referring to two bomb blasts in the Jakarta shopping centers
of Atrium and Cijantung earlier this year.

Arivaldi agreed with Suryo, saying the numerous official
government statements denying that Indonesia harbors terrorists
would only confuse foreign tourists.

He warned that the Bali bombings could lead to travel warnings
from numerous countries.

Yanti, Suryo and Arivaldi called on the government to take
immediate action to find the perpetrators of the blasts and to
restore security in the country.

"In tourism, we sell security. If we don't have it anymore,
what do we have left?" Yanti asked.