Fewer Australian tourists visit Bali

Fewer Australian tourists visit Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: The number of Australian holidaymakers that
visited the island resort of Bali last year dropped 27 percent
compared to that in the previous year, a local tourist official
said here on Saturday.

Chief of the provincial tourism office I Gde Pitana said the
number of Australian tourists who visited Bali last year dropped
to 183,000 from 232,410 in 2002.

He said that, all in all, the total number of foreign tourists
who went to Bali also dropped last year compared with that of the
previous year. Foreign tourists to Bali in 2003 totaled 984,000
people, compared with 1,210,320 in 2002.

Thus, Pitana said, various attempts and promotions had been
aimed to attract foreign tourists, especially those from
Australia.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Council of the Australia-Indonesian
Institute Philip Flood, who visited Bali recently, said Australia
wanted to help revive Bali's tourism industry after it was badly
damaged by the Oct. 12, 2002, bombing tragedy that killed more
than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. -- Antara