RI says tourism on track to recovery after bombing

RI says tourism on track to recovery after bombing

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Indonesia's tourism industry, battered by the Oct. 12 bombing
on Bali island, is on track to recover by the end of the year,
Tourism Minister I Gede Ardika said Monday.

Ardika said tourists were slowly returning to Bali three
months after the blast that killed 190 people and led to a 75
percent drop in tourist arrivals and more than a 50 percent
decline in hotel occupancy.

Last month, tourist arrivals to Bali surged to 63,270, almost
double the 32,296 in November, but still trailing the 91,939
recorded in October, he said.

"Indications show that we are on the right track to recovery,"
he told reporters after a dialogue with Malaysian tour operators
and airline representatives.

"By the end of 2003, the government of Indonesia hopes that
the tourism industry would return to normal and be ready to
expand."

Tourism is the country's second largest source of revenue
after oil and gas.

Before the Bali blast, Ardika said Indonesia had forecast
tourist arrivals in 2002 to hit 5.4 million and contribute US$5.4
billion to the economy, based on an average 10-day stay and
spending of $100 per person per day.

The figure was later revised to 4.3-4.5 million visitors but
Ardika said the government found the situation "was not as bad"
as expected.

He said latest indications showed 2002 tourist arrivals at
around 4.8 million but noted total receipts may drop because
traveler spending was expected to drop below $100.

He said Indonesian hotel and tour operators would unveil more
bargain packages to woo travelers and correct the perception Bali
was still in the throes of terrorism.

"The most effective way to revive confidence is by using the
old saying 'seeing is believing'," he said.

"We want them to see for themselves that the perception that
Bali is unsafe is not true. Bali is safe and is still the island
of peace. Conditions have normalized."

The minister is on an Asian tour taking him also to Seoul and
Tokyo to revive Indonesia's tarnished image.

Last month, he made a similar tour to several European
capitals.

Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association chairman Yanti
Sukamdani Hardjoprakoso told AFP that hotel rates in Bali, which
had dropped sharply after the blast, were expected to gradually
increase by April.

She said hotel occupancy in Bali hit 60 percent last month due
to the year-end holiday season but this was unlikely to be
sustained.

The association's members have unveiled attractive tour
packages to Bali and other destinations targeted at honeymooners,
golfers, divers and businessmen, she added.

Bali, which contributed about 30 percent to Indonesia's
tourism revenue, generates 67 percent of its gross domestic
product from tourism. In normal times it attracts some 1.5
million foreign visitors per year.