Tourism leaders to visit Bali

Tourism leaders to visit Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: Some 100 tourism leaders and journalists from Osaka, Japan, will visit Bali between Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, at the invitation of Bali tourism players.

Simon P. Hasibuan, the marketing manager of PT Air Paradise International, said the visit was aimed at showing Japanese tourism leaders that the tsunami disaster in Aceh had not affected Bali's tourist industry.

"Indonesia is a large country. Having visited Bali and directly observed the island, they will see that the tsunami has not affected Bali. We hope they will later convince the Japanese people back home that Bali is a safe tourist destination," said Hasibuan.

Out of a total 1.45 million foreign tourists who visited the island last year, 326,397 people, or some 22.39 percent were Japanese. -- Antara