Tourist industry places hopes on Bali Travel Mart

Tourist industry places hopes on Bali Travel Mart

By I. Christianto

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Bali, Indonesia's leading tourist desti
nation, is set to invigorate the country's damaged travel
industry after widespread reports of unrest and political
instability.

The island of gods will host the first annual Bali Travel Mart
(BTM), which will be officially opened on Tuesday. The project
aims to reintroduce the island as one of the most popular
destinations in the world, as well as the archipelagic nation as
a whole as an attractive tourist destination.

BTM executive chairman Maman Sunarsa said here on Monday that
Indonesia needed to restore its image after sporadic acts of
violence across the country.

"We must declare that we still exist. We chose Bali, because
we have to admit that the island is more popular. This event will
also prove that Bali is safe," he said.

Head of the provincial office of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts
and Culture, Luther Barrung, said Indonesia could take up to four
years to restore its image in the tourist industry.

"But Bali may need shorter time since during the January-April
period this year, the island recorded a significant increase, of
28 percent, in the number of foreign tourist arrivals among 11
points of entry," he said.

Japanese tourists had appeared again as the major market,
replacing Australia since the unfavorable media reports of a cho
lera outbreak in 1995, he said.

Just like other parts of Indonesia, foreign tourist arrival
numbers in Bali declined last year. But the figure was much less
compared to Jakarta, where overseas travelers traditionally
initiate their visit to Indonesia.

Sunarsa said the recent general election and the ongoing
electoral process had also proved that the democratic activities
in the country did not provoke social unrest as earlier feared.

Several areas in Indonesia have been shaken by a series of
outbreaks of ethnic and sectarian violence in recent months,
killing scores of people. After former president Soeharto stepped
down in May last year, political instability and ethnic violence
led to a dramatic drop in international tourist arrivals to
Indonesia for the first time in a decade. In 1998, a 16.4 percent
decline in tourist arrivals meant only 4.3 million tourists
visited the country.

"Since the elections have passed peacefully without reports of
unrest as earlier feared, we expect to see increasing visitors
again in the coming years," said Sunarsa.

He said BTM had a short-term target to introduce Indonesia was
as an appropriate destination.

"In the longer term, the country's tourist sectors will also
be promoted."

BTM will be held until June 26 in Nusa Dua. Minister of
Tourism, Arts and Culture Marzuki Usman is scheduled to open the
event at Kuta Center in Kuta.

As of Monday, 241 buyers from 28 countries and 200 local
sellers had registered to participate in the event. The organizer
has invited 49 media representatives, including 21 overseas media
representatives, to cover the event's three activities; an expo,
a seminar and a travel exchange event.

Sunarsa estimated the event had a total budget of some Rp 10
billion (approximately US$1.4 million).

"Usually we can see the result of such an event, particularly
the realization of negotiations between sellers and buyers to
bring travelers to Indonesia, in about three months to one year,
depending on the originating countries," he said.