Bringing The Tourists Back

A traditional Balinese procession paraded down the empty streets of Kuta. Despite the riotous colors of the costumes and ritual decorations, this was not the Balinese procession of tourist brochures. In the midst of the parade were blood-drenched men, eyes closed and limbs convulsing, sometimes shouting pained gibberish as they were being led along the street. A few minutes earlier, in the temple where the procession had originated, these men had fallen into trance and enacted violent, gruesome rituals — including biting the heads of live animals — generally thought too disturbing to be presented to tourists.

In fact, their were few actual tourists in attendance on that day in mid November, when the community of Kuta held a massive purification ceremony to cleanse the area destroyed by a terrorist car bomb. The Taur Agung seemed to have worked. During every subsequent week, the streets of Kuta have become noticeably livelier. Australian surfers were the first to arrive, attracted by the cheap living and empty waves. Then came the Aussie Mums, who match their steadfastness only by their sympathy with the unfortunate Balinese.
The traditional high season of Christmas and New Year should be busier than ever, as record numbers of Jakartans and Australians squeeze onto the few available flights, and nations begin to lift travel bans and advisories. The phenomenal outpouring of sympathy and support from throughout the world gives us hope that the tourists — the engine propelling the modern Balinese economy — will be back in droves.
But how many trips will they make? A significant component of Bali’s arrivals are repeat visitors. Like regular customers at a department store, repeat visitors can provide a stable, predictable income base. As an added benefit, visitors who have been to Bali on previous occasions and have developed a familiarity with the island and facilities tend to stay in less-expensive accommodation, eat in private restaurants, and seek out bargains in small stores and workshops, putting more of their money directly into the hands of the common Balinese.
“People are coming to Bali now out of sympathy,” one long-time Kuta resident told me recently. “But if they see the streets are dirty, the traffic is bad, and the service is sloppy, they will not come back.”
The “Island of the Gods” may be the center of the universe in Bali Hindu cosmology, but it is just another other sun-drenched tropical isle on the map of global tourism. With all but Jakarta-based package tour operators agreeing that Bali must forgo mass tourism in favor of restricted numbers of high-spending and/or long-staying, culturally oriented visitors, the success or failure of Bali’s tourist industry during coming years will largely depend in the attitude, dedication, and spirit of cooperation exhibited by all levels of Balinese society.
In the past, the Balinese have, with some justification, blamed foreigners and other Indonesians for turning Kuta into an object lesson on the destruction wrought by travel industry excess. Now, for a number of reasons, the future of Bali is in the hands of the Balinese to a greater extent than at any time in recent history. If the sympathy visitors of Christmas don’t come back in subsequent years, there is no one else to blame.(Jeremy Allan, author of Jakarta Jive (2002))

Domestic Tourists Flood Bali

DENPASAR - The occupancy rate of star and non-star hotels in Bali rose steeply during the week of the Moslem Festival, Idul Fitri, from the end of November until early December. Marketing Manager of Kuta’s Aneka Hotel, Made Purnami, said, “Our occupancy rate has touched the 80-percent level.”
Ms. Purnami conveyed the news to visiting State Minister of Culture and Tourism, I Gede Ardika during his sudden inspection of Aneka Hotel and other hotels in Kuta, on Tuesday, 12 December 2002. Chief of Bali Tourism Office, I Gede Pitana, escorted the minister on the visits.
Purnami acknowledged many rooms were canceled during the weeks following the bomb blast. “The cancellation of rooms has remained on the agenda, but bookings have started to stream in from abroad, from Australia for Christmas Day and New Year vacations”, she said.
Minister Ardika has also received reports and seen domestic tourists enter Bali on the spot when he was in Denpasar’s Queen Hotel. This hotel, which is located close to, the shopping center in Denpasar and within easy reach from Kuta and Sanur, has also recorded more than 80-percent occupancy rates.
Occupancy rates of Sanur’s hotels classified from middle class upwards with preference to overseas tourists have remained at low levels, i.e. less than 20%. Meanwhile, hotels in Nusa Dua resort have seen occupancy rates starting to rise. This has been due to the advantage of their offering special packages from cooperation of the hotels with foreign airlines and the rise of international conferences beginning in Nusa Dua.
According to Minister Ardika, the Government has prepared and applying various strategies to restore a favorable image of Bali in relation to security in international eyes. “We shall open representative offices for tourism promotion in Japan and Australia for the sake of effectiveness,” Minister Ardika said. (dp)