More Swedes arrived in Bali: Report

More Swedes arrived in Bali: Report

SANUR, Bali, (Antara): Bali receives more visitors from
Sweden with the number of Swedish visitors increasing by 17.4
percent between January and September 2000 as compared to the
same period last year.

Based on the data from the province's Ministry of Culture and
Tourism office, the number of Swedish visitors reached 16,727
compared to only 14,249 last year, said Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya
from the Sweden Consulate office in Sanur.

Some foreign countries have issued travel warnings and even
travel bans to discourage or prevent their citizens from visiting
Bali following a riot in West Nusa Tenggara last January.

Widjaya said Indonesia, particularly Bali, must actively
promote its best tourist destinations and improve the country's
tarnished image.

"It is important to launch a special promotion to attract
visitors, especially from Sweden," said Widjaya who is also
chairman of Bali Village.

Widjaya said it would be useless if the central government did
not support promotional activities carried out by provincial and
regional tourism related industries.

The ongoing multidimensional crisis has badly affected tourism
in Indonesia.

"We are still depending on foreign assistance and therefore
the government must be more proactive in promoting tourism," he
said.

Any promotional effort need to be done comprehensively,
encompassing various sectors, he said.

"The government has to reintroduce Indonesia to the outside
world in a fair way and honestly tell them what is really
happening in the country," he said.

To improve Indonesia's image, Indonesia can participate in
various tourism marts such as the International Tourism Bourse
(ITB) in Berlin, Germany or the Asian Tourism Forum (ATF).