RI greets Australia's latest travel advisory

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian government welcomed the withdrawal of Australia's specific travel warning for Bali, and expected other countries to take Canberra's decision into account and change their travel warnings.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday that the move showed that Indonesia's response and stance on such travel warnings were heard.

"It also proves that the work of our security officers to build confidence for foreigners that Indonesia is safe, is succeeding," Marty said.

Australian authorities withdrew the specific warning for Bali on Monday, however they reissued a general travel alert for its citizens to go to Indonesia, which does also include Bali according to the foreign affairs website www.dfat.gov.au.

The advisory reads, "We (Australian government) continue to advise Australians to defer non-essential travel to Indonesia, including Bali." On the specific Bali page, it says, "The travel advice for Bali has been withdrawn" and refers readers to the Indonesia page.

The slight change in the wording was made one month after the Bali carnage which killed more than 190 people, many of whom were Australian holiday makers.

Earlier, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that the country was fully aware that such s call should be followed by firm action from security officers to ensure safety for foreigners in the country.

Marty called on other countries with similar warnings in place to consider lessening them or even withdrawing them altogether as it would be counterproductive to Indonesia's tourism and economy.

"It is up to other countries, how to view the current decision by Canberra. But we hope that it would be something that could be considered," he remarked.

In addition to Australia, a number of developed countries have also issued warnings for their citizens in Indonesia or wishing to visit Indonesia. They include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan.

Immediately after the Oct. 12 bombing, the Australian government urged its citizens to leave the country, while the U.S. had sent home its non-essential embassy staff and dependents.

Many not only imposed a travel warning for Indonesia but also for several other countries in Southeast Asia.

The Bali bombing, coupled with the travel warning, has affected the tourism industry in Indonesia, especially Bali.

Bali will be severely affected as Australian holiday makers normally make up almost 70 percent of Bali's visitors.

The World Bank has predicted that the Bali bombing could see the number of tourists to Indonesia drop by at least 20 percent.

The Indonesian government has also forecasted that a "domino effect" caused by the Bali tragedy and travel warnings would result in additional unemployment of some two million people, of which 600,000 people would lose their jobs in Bali.