Hotels and other tourism sector players should constantly improve the quality of their services so tourists will feel comfortable and want to come back to Bali, said an official of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
"Hotels and other players in the tourism sector should always improve the quality of their products and services so that foreign tourists will visit Bali again and again," said Thamrin Bhiwana Bachri, the director general of culture and tourism promotion, at the opening the sixth Food, Hotel and Tourism Exhibition in Nusa Dua on Thursday.
He said events like the ongoing exhibition were important to improve tourism services, allowing participants to display not only food but also modern hotel facilities that improve comfort and safety.
"I saw just now the latest technology in safety locks for hotel doors and safety boxes, as well as anti-fire beds. These technologies will certainly make guests feel more comfortable and safer," Thamrin said.
He said the exhibition could also function as a promotional event to attract more visitors in Bali.
"That will be very useful for our 2008 Visit Indonesia Year program," he said.
In January 2008, the ministry recorded 145,883 foreign tourists visiting Bali, a 29.88 percent increase from 112,324 people in January 2007.
"Even though there have been some unexpected incidents happening lately, the most important thing is how we inform the international community about what we have done to overcome such occurrences," he said.
Director of sales and marketing for the exhibition's organizer, Astied Julias, said the event was held every two years in Bali.
"This year there are 267 participants or a 30 percent increase from the previous event. That includes representatives of 27 foreign countries that have opened stalls at the exhibition," she said.
She said the organizer also cooperated with Bali Culinary Professionals, which is putting on a culinary event during the five-day exhibition.
Stefan Mueller, a committee member of the Bali Culinary Professionals, said there were two new competitions at this year's event.
"This year, for example, there is the 2008 Bocuse D'or Asia and the Asian Pastry Cup. Both are international competitions for chefs," he said.
He said the winners would qualify for an Asia-Pacific competition in Shanghai for the Bocuse D'or and Singapore for the Asian Pastry Cup.
"If they can win the Asia-level competition they will be sent to the world competition in France," he said.
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