Security lessons from the Kuta tragedy

I Gde Pitana, Contributor, Denpasar

The peaceful atmosphere of Bali was shattered on Oct. 12, 2002 by the bombs that claimed more than 184 lives in Kuta. It was one of the worst tragedies the island has suffered.

The blast impacted on the economy of the island, which is highly dependent on tourism. The image of Bali as a safe tourist destination was left in ruin.

During the first days after the blast, a great worry reigned that ethnic conflict would engulf Bali when the angry native Balinese found out the perpetrators were non-Balinese.

This fear forced representatives of many countries to evacuate their citizens from Bali. Then tourists streamed out of Bali a few days after the bombings.

Hotel occupancy rates also dropped drastically. Some hotels had no visitors at all.

The average October occupancy rate, normally 66.30 percent, was only 29.58 percent. The rate after the Sept. 11 2002 World Trade Center tragedy was 52.98 percent.

Tourism has been Bali's development locomotive. A study shows that 38 percent of job opportunities and 51 percent of people's incomes in Bali were directly related to tourism. If the indirect impacts were included, these figures would definitely be much higher. Hotels, restaurants and trade alone contributed around 31 percent of the island's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2001. Hence, it is not difficult to understand how much the province suffers because of the tragedy.

Everybody is sad and shocked. The Balinese people and the government has pledged to make the tragedy a cornerstone to develop Bali in a better way.

The Kuta tragedy has been used as a turning point to keep security of Bali in a stricter way. The bomb must be the first and the last one in Bali.

The tragedy has reminded us all that Bali has been slack about security.

As a holiday haven, Bali has not changed. The beach is still there. The culture is sill there. The friendliness of the people has not disappeared. But, Bali has lost its image as a safe place. Since tourism depends significantly on the image, recovery of its image should be the first priority to mend the island's tourism industry.

Since security is the most crucial issue at present, the local government has given special attention to the subject. Several security measures have been implemented to regain Bali's image as a safe tourist haven.

Firstly, the local government has imposed tight security checks on people entering the island through several entry points, such as the Ngurah Rai International airport in Kuta, Benoa Port in southern Bali, Gilimanuk in the west, Padang Bai in Karang Asem, East Bali and Celukan Bawang Harbour in Buleleng, North Bali.

Security checks have been carried out with two approaches. The first one is through administrative checking by questioning their identity cards. Everyone entering the island is required to have an ID card. They should have a clear purpose for their visit and have references in Bali.

Secondly, visitors are subject to physical checks. Officials will carefully check all the items and belongings the visitor brings to Bali.

As of Nov. 26, there have been nearly 3000 people denied entry to Bali for a range of security reasons.

The Balinese traditional community has also imposed stricter regulations in its own communal villages. Bali has 1,376 customary villages. Each of the villages has been instructed to impose more intensive and tighter security measures. Those who cannot show their identification will be immediately sent back to their hometowns. On Dec. 10 alone, nearly 200 people were sent back to Java by the Denpasar municipality.

Tight security has also been applied to various events, including family gatherings like wedding ceremonies and art performances.

Imposing tight security systems in various tourism facilities including hotels, restaurants, entertainment center, pubs as well as supermarket is a must for Bali nowadays. Each person entering a hotel is subject to tight security checks at its entrance gate.

The island's tourist resorts are tightly guarded by tourist police. More importantly, the government has also implemented a number of preventive measures and has invited all community members on the island to work hand in hand to enhance security in their neighborhoods.

At present, life in Bali is back to normal. Traditional markets are as crowded as ever. A number of planned tourism and entertainment events will take place as scheduled.

It is encouraging that a number of important International events such as the annual meeting of PATA 2003 annual conference, the ASEAN summit and World Trade Organization meetings will be held in Bali. There has been no change in the plans.

In short, security measures are better overseen following the Kuta tragedy.

The writer is a professor at the Udayana University and Head of Bali's Tourism Office.