Flowers, fruit to color 2004 Nusa Dua Festival

Flowers, fruit to color 2004 Nusa Dua Festival

Wahyoe Boedhiwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua

The Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) is holding its annual Nusa Dua Festival, this year with the special theme Udiana Lelanguan, which literally means entertainment park.

The festival is to feature a number of attractions such as traditional dances, karawitan vocal performances, dance theater and various other forms of performing arts.

Among the performing groups are Padma Nara Suara and Genta Bhuana Sari, from Peliatan village in Gianyar. These two groups are scheduled to perform an enchanting dance theater, telling the story of a beautiful and peaceful park that can heal and soothe the mind and heart.

According to I Made Mandra, BTDC executive director, all performances of the festival aim to lure back both domestic and foreign visitors to Bali, especially to Nusa Dua.

In the last few months, the Balinese tourist industry has seen a significant rebound, thanks to the influx of Asian visitors. Yet, the industry has not fully recovered, as the number of visitors from traditional tourist markets -- such as European countries and Australia -- is low compared to previous years.

"These days, average occupancy rates among Nusa Dua hotels have been increasing steadily since the Oct. 12 bombing tragedy, SARS and avian flu outbreaks, but we have yet to reach the rates before these events," said Mandra.

The average occupancy rate is currently at 65 percent, but hotels boasted a 80 percent rate previously.

The festival, which has been held annually these past eight years, will bring together artists, craftsmen, the hotel industry and tourism business in a nine-day event. The festival was opened on Sept. 8, and will run until Sept. 16.

Among the more interesting programs are a flower and fruit parade and the traditional Balinese parade, Peed Agung.

The flower and fruit parade will involve participants from 11 starred hotels in Nusa Dua, while the Peed Agung will bring together 2,000 Balinese youths dressed in their most elaborate traditional costumes, accompanied by gamelan music and Balinese dancers, complete with colorful ceremonial ornaments.

The festival's main programs include a series of traditional and contemporary performing arts from 22 regencies, which represent 17 provinces. Perming groups from various state-owned enterprises and private companies will also highlight the festival with a diversity of performances, all of which will be staged daily from 9 a.m. through 11 p.m. at the Chandra Loka Amphitheater.

In addition to entertainment, the festival organizers are trying to attract visitors to Plaga, a small village about 30 kilometers north of Denpasar, to view its remarkable horticultural park.

Plaga village is known as a producer of various agricultural products, particularly tropical fruits such as oranges and salak, or snake fruit. The Balinese, however, mostly buy their fruits and flowers from the neighboring islands of Java and Lombok to meet their high demand -- flowers and fruits are central to the various offerings Balinese make every day to temples and shrines, and during religious ceremonies.

The Plaga horticultural park is almost finished.

"It is now already 90 percent (complete). We expect the park to be officially open in October," he said.

Asked whether the festival had brought more visitors to Nusa Dua, Mandra admitted it was not so significant.

"Most visitors were domestic tourists. In 2003, for instance, 44,089 visitors attended the festival, but only 10 percent of them were foreigners," he said.