Riot reports hurt tourist industry

Riot reports hurt tourist industry

JAKARTA (JP): Reports of riots have reversed the recovery of
the country's tourist industry as many tourists have canceled
their Indonesian trips due to security reasons, a senior
government official said here on Wednesday.

The Director General of Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism,
Culture and Arts I Gde Ardhika said tourist arrivals at major
tourist destinations such as Bali, which had shown signs of
recovery in the previous months, fell again on reports of
widespread security problems in the country.

With a gloomy outlook for foreign tourist arrivals, it will be
very difficult to meet the government's target of 4.8 million
visitors this year, he said.

"Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia only totaled 2.9
million during the January to October period. With this result,
we estimate the number will only reach about 3.5 million visitors
by the end of December," he said on the sidelines of a hearing of
the House of Representatives Commission IV for public works,
transportation, tourism, communications and public housing.

Foreign revenue from international visitors fell by 19.5
percent to US$2.9 billion during the first 10 months of the year,
compared to the same period last year, he said.

Ardhika said that foreign tourist arrivals had risen slightly
since the May riots, but growing uncertainty over the political
stability of the country due to the Semanggi killings and several
religious-related riots is once again keeping tourists away from
Indonesia.

The travel advisories issued by several countries following
the bloody incidents had prompted many tourists to cancel their
trips to Indonesia, he said.

During the hearing, the commission members also expressed
concerns over travel warnings which have been recently issued by
foreign governments to their nationals considering visits to
Indonesia.

Commission chairman Burhanuddin Napitupulu said that the
commission had recently received reports from tour operators and
hotels that at least 65 percent of their foreign clients had
canceled their trips to Bali over security concerns.

"The current situation is not as bad as the aftermath of the
May riots, but the Semanggi and Ketapang incidents had made
several major countries issue travel advisories for Jakarta. And
although it was imposed only on Jakarta, it made tourists think
that all parts of Indonesia were not safe," he said.

On Nov. 13, a clash occurred between student protesters and
security personnel at the Semanggi cloverleaf, as a result of
which 12 people died.

Later in November, religious-related riots in West and Central
Jakarta claimed 14 lives and left 22 churches and numerous other
properties burned.

As a consequence, Japan imposed a level-two warning for its
citizens wishing to travel to areas in Indonesia outside of Bali.
Under this travel warning, travel agents are not allowed to
market the destinations.

Tokyo has also imposed a level-one notice for Bali, advising
Japanese nationals not to visit the island. Japanese tourists
usually account for the greatest number of foreign visitors to
Indonesia, especially to Bali.

Ardhika said that other countries, such as the United States,
Canada, Australia, Singapore and the members of the European
Union, have not imposed travel advisories, but they have
cautioned their nationals "not to travel to Jakarta if they can
help it".

He said that his office has not received reports on the
decline in tourist arrivals caused by the travel advisories, but
he acknowledged that occupancy rates at hotels in Bali are
expected to fall to 60 percent during what is normally the
December to January peak season. In past years, the hotel
occupancy rate in Bali had been over 90 percent during the peak
season.

Ardhika said that Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture
Marzuki Usman would invite the ambassadors of Japan, the United
Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Australia and the
United States to discuss the travel advisories.

He said that the ministry would also invite tour operators and
foreign travel writers to visit Indonesia in January.

"We will also use TV coverage to counter the negative reports
by the foreign media which have severely tarnished the country's
image and prompted many tourists to cancel their trips here," he
said.

Ardhika said that the ministry will not set a target for
foreign tourists arrivals next year due to the uncertain
conditions. (gis)