Japanese tourists in Bali

Japanese tourists in Bali

JAKARTA (JP): Garuda Indonesia, the national flag carrier, reported here yesterday that the number of its passengers from Japan to Denpasar, Bali, has remained stable in the last two months, despite controversial reports of a cholera outbreak on the holiday island.

Airline spokesman Jansius Siahaan said that in January, Garuda transported 23,556 passengers from Tokyo and 8,876 others from Osaka to Denpasar.

Up to Feb. 21, the air carrier transported 22,263 passengers from the two Japanese cities to Bali last month, Jansius said.

In addition to Tokyo and Osaka, Garuda also serves two other Japanese cities, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

Jansius also said that the chief of Bali's health office, I Wayan Samendra, sent a letter to Garuda stating that no evidence of a cholera epidemic on the island had been reported even within the last two years.

A report quoted a Japanese health official as saying in Tokyo early this week that at least 77 Japanese who recently visited Bali are suffering from cholera or its early symptoms. (icn)