Govt asked to focus on Bali tourism promotion

Govt asked to focus on Bali tourism promotion

JAKARTA (JP): Legislators and tourist industry businesses
suggested the government on Wednesday focuses its tourism
promotion campaign on Bali, because the island is the only
saleable tourism destination in the country.

Legislator Burhanuddin Napitupulu, who chairs the House of
Representatives Commission IV for public works, transportation,
tourism, communications and public housing, said foreign visitors
generally considered Bali the safest destination in the country
at present.

"We should, therefore, change our tourism promotion campaign
and take Bali as the focus of attention, at least over the next
five years," he said in a hearing with several tourism-related
associations.

Burhanuddin of the Golkar faction said when visiting Bali
foreign visitors should also be encouraged to visit other parts
of the country.

To support the campaign, the government should improve the
infrastructure in the province, he said.

"Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport should be expanded
and improved because it is already too small for an international
airport. We should develop Benoa harbor to cater to cruises, or
develop Sukawati market as a leading shopping attraction," he
said.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture shows that
during the January-October period last year, Bali recorded the
lowest decrease in the number of foreign tourist arrivals among
11 points of entry.

Foreign tourist arrival numbers in Bali declined by seven
percent during the period, compared to Jakarta, where figures
dropped by 39.33 percent.

Officials estimate the number of foreign tourists would
further decline this year due to reports of riots and growing
unrest in several parts of the country.

The occupancy rates of hotels in Bali reached over 55 percent
during the period, the highest among tourist destinations. Hotel
occupancy rates in Jakarta and Yogyakarta only reached 34 percent
and 40 percent respectively during the same period.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board (BPPI)
Pontjo Sutowo said that BPPI has introduced Bali-plus and Beyond
Bali tour packages, which offer tourists a visit to Bali and
other destinations in one package, as a promotion of alternative
parts of the country.

But so far, he said, the programs have not run well because of
lack of support from other destinations.

"By promoting Bali, foreign tourists will forget that they are
visiting Indonesia, which is being avoided due to reports of
daily riots in the country. However, this move was not supported
by other tourist destinations, which say that they have been left
out by BPPI in its tourism promotion campaign," he said.

Speaking in the same hearing, Pontjo said that the campaign
should be better promoted in order to gain more support from the
tourist industry in other destinations.

Burhanuddin also said that the commission was against the
local airlines demand for an increase in the domestic airfares
following the recent 60 percent increase in jet fuel prices.

He said that the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association
(INACA) demand to raise domestic airfares by 60 percent was
unreasonable.

"The fuel cost is 17 percent of an airline's total operating
costs. So if it is necessary to increase airfares, the increase
should only be six percent," he said.

The government increased the jet fuel price from Rp 600 (US$
0.07) to Rp 1,060 (US$ 0.12) per liter, effective Feb. 5.

The government last increased domestic airfares by 40 percent
to Rp 753 per kilometer per seat based on the assumed Rp 10,600
to the U.S. dollar on Sept. 1, 1998.

The Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel
Agencies (ASITA) Sri Mulyono Herlambang said that another
increase in airfares would kill the local tourist industry
because it would discourage people from traveling.

"The current airfares are already too high because they are
based on a rupiah rate of over Rp 10,000 per U.S dollar. They
should be lowered because the rupiah has appreciated," he said.

The rupiah was traded at around Rp 8,600 on Wednesday. (gis)