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Visits of Australian Tourists to Bali Gradually
Recovering
 The
Australians were afraid and somehow angry
after the 2005 bomb terror tragedy and stayed
away from Bali. Fortunately, their skepticism
is milder now. Australia was the primary
market buffer and because the Public Relations
of Bali is now continuously getting better,
there is a better understanding of the security
situation in Bali. Although the Government
of Australia ‘diligently’ issued
travel warnings and travel bans to Bali
/ Indonesia and which was respected by its
citizen, within the last two months it seemed
to have changed towards a more positive
direction. Again Bali is becoming the Second
Home for our Australian friends and Kuta
is again becoming their village / “kampong”.
Bali and its people, including the government
and businesspeople, should pay tribute to
that positive alteration, as the Australian
tourists are contributing enormously towards
the real sector in Bali.
Today, Australians are again occupying Kuta
Beach, Legian, Poppies Lane, Kartika Plaza
and Bakung Sari. Along the sidewalks of
Kuta, Australian guests are seen everywhere
and busy again in activities like swimming,
surfing and strolling around
Also the new direct access to and from Bali
by air has improved again. Garuda Indonesia
has started serving the route Bali-Australia-Bali
again, after previously being discontinued.
Jet Star (a sister company of Qantas) provides
its new flight services to Bali six times
a week. The latest actual information is
that Air Paradise International, is back
to fly Boeing aircrafts to Australia, starting
from the upcoming month of April.
Also travel wholesalers in Australia received
many reservations from retailer agents for
holiday in Bali, starting from April 2007.
It is therefore with optimism that we can
predict that the Australians will be fully
back to Bali this year, provided that the
security and convenient conditions of this
island are thoroughly maintained.
Without ignoring other markets, Australians
indeed love Bali very much. They miss meeting
their friends Nyoman, Ketut, Wayan whom
they encounter at Kuta Beach and Poppies
Lane,” revealed I.B. Surakusuma alias
Lolec while ensuring that the market of
Australian MICE has surely not wriggled.
Mr. Kadek Wiranatha, owner of a number of
entertainment companies in Kuta, Legian
and Seminyak is of the same opinion:. “Every
Friday and Saturday night, a large crowd
of Australian budget travelers even throng
there and spend their money at entertainment
spots like Gado-Gado, Embargo and Bounty
Ship discotheque,” he uttered. (BTN/013)
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