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)