Japanese travel agencies visit Bali

DENPASAR: Representatives of over 91 Japanese travel agencies within the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) visited Bali over the weekend to assess the latest security situation on the island.

The three-day visit, led by JATA chairman Yukio Ishii, also brought 16 Japanese journalists and travel writers.

It was the second visit by Japanese travel representatives to the island since the Oct. 12 attack, which killed more than 190 people, mostly foreigners.

In a meeting with local government officials on Saturday, the businesspeople expressed their support for efforts to improve security protection on the island.

Bali deputy governor I Gusti Bagus Alit Putra told the Japanese that the government would issue security guarantee documents to foreign travel bureaus that regularly brought foreign tourists to the island.

During their stay in Bali, the representatives observed a variety of measures carried out to improve security at the airport, hotels, shopping centers and several tourist attractions.

In November, some 200 JATA members also visited Bali. --Antara