MICE: Just a village affair in Sanur

MICE: Just a village affair in Sanur

By Grace Emilia

SANUR, Bali (JP): The whole street is blocked. Along both
sides, Balinese children waving red and white paper flags are
cheering out loudly. A group of gamelan performers, men wearing
brilliant uniforms, lead a procession into a hotel's garden
through a gateway lit by torches.

More than 100 international guests soon follow after alighting
from their buses. Upon entering the gate, the children approach
the guests and hand their paper flags to them. Smiling broadly,
some guests hold the children's hands and ask them to walk with
them into the garden.

Inside the beautiful garden, the smell of roasted chicken
mixed with fresh peeled pineapple penetrates the clear air of
Sanur Beach. A variety of delicious food prepared in several
traditional huts is scattered around the garden.

All of a sudden, the gamelan sound is halted when kul-kul bang
from four directions. All eyes are fixed on 12 girls and 12 boys
who carry torches onto the stage. They sit on the square stage
with a leader in the middle. A variety of dances, comic sketches
and acrobatic displays are then performed. All the guests clap
their hands in appreciation.

The imaginative description of the dinner session above
involved a professional conference organizer, international
conference participants, local villagers and a star-rated hotel
in Sanur, Bali.

In reality, such perfect collaboration is not just a writer's
imagination. Presently, some star-rated hotels in Sanur and
professional conference organizers are collaborating to form the
Sanur Village Bali Alliance.

"The main purpose is to bring Sanur back as a main MICE
destination in Bali," said Richard Boustead, Indonesia regional
director of operations for Radisson Hotels and Resorts, who is
also general manager of Radisson Bali and among the first in
proposing the idea of this alliance.

Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) is a
lucrative business, the yield of which is higher than for other
tourism activities (see article below). Presently, the Nusa Dua
area with its Bali International Convention Center and upmarket
properties is the main venue for MICE activities in Bali,
especially for major international events.

Other venues like Sanur, lacking in big convention facilities,
are trying to find a breakthrough solution in marketing and
selling the area but at the same time empowering local resources.

Sanur, which up to date is still Bali's largest traditional
village, has 1,000 five-star hotel bedrooms, quite apart from
those in the four-star category and below. But Sanur is also
Bali's first beach resort, having started with the 11-story Bali
Beach Hotel, a war-reparation gift from the Japanese.

"The future tourism concept of Bali is preserving the
tradition. It's high time to develop local resources whilst at
the same time giving a real Bali experience to our guests" added
Brad Kirk, general manager of Bali Hyatt, a five-star hotel
located in Sanur.

"In other words, this alliance is also a way to create a win-
win solution between the industry and the locals. We want to make
business meetings a village affair. To make it possible, we are
cooperating with Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur (Sanur Development
Foundation) to develop a meeting site within the village or the
whole street when there is a MICE event.

"Within this concept, Sanur villagers can invite people into
their homes, cook them food and discuss local traditions with
them. So it's not like a guide telling you, as the guests
experience it directly," explained Boustead.

"It's a real interaction, unlike in Nusa Dua where dance
groups are simply brought into hotels. In such a situation,
guests do not have a chance to have direct contact with the
dancers or musicians themselves," added Kirk.

"Or we can organize a jukung (small boat) race in boats
belonging to the villagers here as part of the incentive program.
We can also encourage the guests to enter traditional markets or
the Le Mayeur Museum and give donations there. It's Sanur's
competitive edge which is both great fun for the guests, and
beneficial for the locals and the preservation of local culture,"
added Putri Istiarini, director of sales of the Raddin Hotel.

The maturity of Bali on the whole as an international tourist
destination makes it easier for the industry to cooperate with
locals. Sarita Newton, the alliance's "operations manager" said
that the Sanur Alliance does not have to work too hard in
empowering the locals as they are highly organized already
through their Banjar (traditional community system).

"As far as the business situation is concerned, due to
political rifts in Indonesia, Bali is so far the only destination
still in high demand for international conferences. Of course
Bali is affected as well, but we still manage by having some
business from other sources, i.e. from non-governmental
organizations," maintained Weilin Han, assistant director of
Pacto Convex, a professional conference organizer.

"The good news is that the domestic MICE market has been
growing tremendously. The Australian market has not recovered
much. But on bookings for 2001, the Asian market, especially from
Singapore and Hong Kong, has shown better signs. I just hope that
the United States won't continue with its travel warning as
actually the American market itself shows a great interest to
come to Bali and have meetings here," noted Sammy Carolus,
director of business development at Bali Hyatt Hotel.

As the Sanur Alliance will conduct a lot of promotion and
cooperation, i.e. with airlines, it seems to be a good fresh
start in regaining international trust in Bali and Indonesia as a
safe destination and a haven for MICE events.