Hard Rock Hotel Bali Hosts
Media Familiarization Visit With Garuda

KUTA - More than 30 journalists from various publications in China, Vietnam and Singapore were invited and were accommodated at Hard Rock Hotel Bali, October 21-23, 2005.
The aim of this familiarization trip was to promote Bali as a destination and assure international guests that security measures are very much in place and have been since the 2002 incident. All journalists had a chance to visit and interview the Vice Governor as well as Chief of Police of Bali, in relation to the current security situation. They also visited the Bomb Sites in Legian and Kuta Square and paid their respects at the Memorial, commemorating those who died in the 2002 Blast.
Hard Rock Hotel Bali presented a warm Hard Rock style welcome. Fire shows were performed with stilt walkers and circus performers. On the same evening, they were hosted to an authentic Balinese buffet dinner at “Gamelan” restaurant. Besides the sumptuous buffet of Balinese food, a small gamelan troupe entertained the group during dinner. Two female staff of the hotel in traditional dress welcomed the guests with flowers. (BTN/*)

The Dutch Ambassador : Bali Still to be Visited

DENPASAR – Although Bali has been attacked by bombing tragedies at Kuta and Jimbaran, but it hasn’t affected tourists visits to Bali. “The island of God is still safe to visit” said The Holland Ambassador for Indonesia Mr. Dr. Nikolaos Van Dam when he came to visit the Denpasar Mayor’s Office.
Accompanied by the Dutch consul in Bali, Nikolaos was received by The Mayor of Denpasar Drs. AA Puspayoga. His purpose in visiting Bali was to join the commemoration of three years Bali Bombing tragedy at Kuta and also to see the situation after the 2nd bombing at Kuta and Jimbaran. “The bombing terror can happen anywhere, but we have to be ready and alert” he explained.
Nowadays the Dutch monarchy has not put into force any travel warnings to their citizens if they want to come to Indonesia. Even the Dutch people are very enthusiastic to visit Indonesia. But the constraint is their state that joins the Europe Union States is still fixed with VoA (Visa on Arrival) policy, he added.
From 25 members of Europe Union States, only two countries (Holland and Sweden) have a VoA Policy. It certainly complicates people who want come to visit Indonesia spontaneously, because they have to complete the Visa first which is simply a waste of time.
The Denpasar Mayor, Puspayoga said he wants to develop security efforts. But according to the head of Denpasar Tourism Service, Putu Budiasa, Dutch people visiting Bali has decreased. In 2004 it was noted that 9.562 people visited Bali, but in August 2005 the numbers were 4.044.
(BTN/015)

Tourist Visit

CANDIDASA— 14 Taiwanese travel agents and 2 journalists made a visit to Karangasem Regency recently. This two-day visit was an invitation by the Rama Group as an endeavour to promote the tourist destination in East Bali. Seen in the picture is Karangasem Government Tourist Office, Drs. I Nengah Sudarsa accompanied by Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA) Karangasem Chapter, Ir. Wayan Tama, S.H. who posed together with the agent group at the area of Hotel Rama Candidasa, Monday (7/11). (BTN/*)

Clean Up Sawangan Beach

NUSA DUA SELATAN - In conjunction with ‘The Clean Up The World Weekend’ celebration, Nikko Bali Resort & Spa organized a beach cleaning on Friday (16/9). This program involved more than 200 people from the local fisherman organization, ‘Kelompok Nelayan Sari Merta Segara’, the children from local elementary school, Sekolah Dasar Negeri No.2 Benoa, Lingkungan Sawangan as well as the management and employees of Nikko Bali Resort & Spa. As volunteers, they worked together in cleaning up of the 5 km shoreline at Sawangan Beach, southern part of Nusa Dua. Large amount of rubbish such as plastic, cans, bottles, sandal had been collected from along the beach. The cleaning event was expected to highlight the need of clean tourism and most important to have local community aware of the importance of a clean environment. (BTN/*)