Travel ban to Indonesia logical: Ardika
JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Tourism I Gede Ardika said on Monday travel advisories issued by some countries for their citizens to delay travel plans to visit Indonesia during May and June were fully understandable.
Ardika said it was common for governments to advise its citizens to exercise care during visits to overseas countries or not to travel in certain areas.
"It is a government's responsibility to provide the right information to its citizens and it's a citizen's right to obtain guidance from its government. So let's not overreact on this," he said.
Some countries, including Great Britain, United States, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Thailand and Belgium, issued travel advisories in relation to campaign activities from May 19 through June 4 and the election date scheduled for June 7, he said.
"But they are only recommendations, not a ban," Ardika said.
The Australian travel advisory issued on April 14 told Australians traveling to Indonesia to be aware of a likelihood of continuing public disturbances and political demonstrations in Jakarta and other centers in the country, which have the potential to turn violent without warning.
Travel advice and warnings issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan currently implement the Level 2 category, which is a recommendation to defer non-essential travel, such as sightseeing; advises residents in Indonesia to use due caution; and advises sightseeing travelers to consider immediate departure from the country.
Other countries that recently issued travel advisories and planned necessary action regarding the scheduled campaign and election period are South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan.
The South Korean government has reportedly arranged special flights from Jakarta to Seoul from May 20, when the school vacation starts here.
AFP reported the South Korean embassy here would also set up an emergency evacuation plan for its citizens amid fears of violence similar to that of last year, when massive violent riots in May broke out in major cities in the country, forcing former president Soeharto to step down and end his 32-year rule.
The Philippines government reportedly recommended an immediate evacuation of some 2,500 Filipinos working and living in Indonesia.
From Taipei, Taiwan's foreign ministry spokesman Wu Yuan-yen called for Taiwanese in Indonesia to mind their safety and keep in touch with the representative office in Jakarta, DPA reported.
Hence, The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has notified travel agencies to suspend sending tours to Indonesia, except to Bali, in May, June and July.
Ardika said the fact that some areas in the country were prone to riots, especially in relation to campaign and election activities, was undeniable and would certainly affect the tourism industry.
The Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture projected the number of foreigners to visit Indonesia to decline between 319,700 and 364,100 in May from the estimated number in April between 324,700 and 366,800 due to the start of the campaign period.
The number of foreign visitors in June was projected to increase slightly to 368,000.
Ardika said he was upbeat that the flow of inbound visitors, especially to Jakarta, would meet the minimum target thanks to the influx of foreigners expected to visit the country to see the campaign and election activities.
"It doesn't matter that they are here as election observers or journalists. They are still inbound tourists for us because they stay in hotels and buy souvenirs, which bring profits to the tourism industry," he said.
He said the ministry was trying to mend Indonesia's security image for foreign markets by cooperating with foreign travel wholesalers in promoting tourism packages to Indonesia, inviting foreign travel operators and writers and disseminating information through the media. (cst)