Travel ban to Indonesia logical: Ardika

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)