Garuda to give away free Bali tickets

JAKARTA: National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia launched its Cinta Bali (Love Bali) program, in which the airline will give away 10,000 tickets to Bali -- half for domestic flights and the rest for international flights -- to help the island's economy recover.

The program was launched on Tuesday here by State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik, State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto and Garuda President Emirsyah Satar.

"Giving away 10,000 tickets is expected to boost the number of tourists to Bali," Emirsyah surmised.

Domestic passengers have the chance to get the free tickets when flying by Garuda to Jakarta from Nov. 10 to Dec. 10 and from Jan. 10 to Feb. 10, 2006. They will have to fill in the provided form when checking-in and the forms will be drawn during the flight. The date of traveling for the program is between November and April 2006.

Garuda's international flight passengers -- except those flying from Jeddah, Ad Dammam and Riyadh -- also have a chance to get the free tickets by registering via the airline's website at www.garuda-indonesia.com from Nov. 10 to Dec. 31. Winners need to use the tickets between Jan. 8 and May 31, 2006.

Bali's tourism industry was hit hard by its second terrorist bombing in three years, on Oct. 1, which claimed 23 lives. The island was just recovering from the attack on Oct. 12, 2002, which killed 202 tourists, mostly Australians. -- JP