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.