Archive for May, 2007
MUSCAT — The tourism industry in Indonesia is witnessing a boom as the nation celebrates the highest number of foreign arrivals since 2001. In 2007, a total of six million tourists are expected.
Thamrin Bachri, director-general of tourism at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Indonesia, said that the government is focusing on visitors from the Middle East.
Around 60,000 tourists from the region visited in 2006 and about 100,000 visitors are being projected for this year and 150,000 for 2008.
The 80 per cent of tourists came from Saudi Arabia and followed by 18,000 to 20,000 tourists from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
To facilitate easy travel, the government has introduced a visa-on-arrival scheme for tourists from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The cost of visa is $25 for one month.
Thamrin said with 90 per cent of the Indonesians being Muslims, visitors from the Arab world can feel at home with nearly all hotels in Java are equipped with special rooms for prayer and food which are of the safe standards.
While no direct flights are available from Muscat, airlines from the neighbouring countries with more Indonesian expatriates operate directly to Jakarata with some even connecting to the tourist attraction of Bali. All international airports in Indonesia have Arabic signboards.
Thamrin admitted that travel from Oman is on the costlier side in the absence of direct links but he said things would change in the coming years with more airlines operating to Oman, which is also a major tourist destination.
Travellers to Indonesia, especially soccer fans, can witness AFC to be co-hosted by four nations-Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will represent the Arab world.
Games will take place in Gelora Bungkarno Stadium in Jakarta from July 7 to 29. The stadium has a good pitch and has undergone renovations to invite visitors from many Asian countries.
There is a meeting of the travel industry in Bali from September 25 to 28 for PATA Travel Mart with delegates from all over the world attending the event.
The year 2008 is seen as ‘Visit Indonesia Year’ with the government targeting seven million arrivals to mark the anniversary of the nation’s Awakening Day, which will be celebrated with huge number of events and concerts.
Vinod Nair, Oman Time
May 14th, 2007
Todds Valley couple Patrick and Patsy McGrath hope to make a special delivery during their annual aid trip to Bali in June, but they need a little help.
Mrs McGrath, a former teacher, has developed cassette tape and written aids to help Balinese people learn basic English.
All they need now are portable cassette players so people in the Candi Dasa area can use the programme.
The McGraths have been making the annual trip for the past 15 years.
Speaking English was vital to getting a job in Bali’s tourism sector, Mr McGrath said. It cost about $NZ120 for a Balinese child to go to school for a year, which was an “impossible” expense for most Balinese.
He said those who could afford an education often were not taught good English, especially for getting a job in the tourism industry.
Mr McGrath said the lessons were relevant to the tourism industry and included learning sentences such as “Where would you like to go, sir?” and how spicy people would like their food to be.
The McGraths have an arrangement with Singapore Airlines to take 100kg of goods with them at no extra charge. They are also looking for hand tools, clock radios, tape recorders and other items to help support people in the region.
Mr McGrath said the month-long trip was always enjoyable, and they felt their work was appreciated by the Balinese. “They welcome us into their families and take us to intimate ceremonies.”
Anyone with tape players or items to donate can contact the McGraths at pat\@\tuck.co.nz.
The Nelson Mail
May 14th, 2007
Denpasar, Bali - A Bali art team consisting of 10 artists on Wednesday left for the Netherlands to participate in the Amsterdam Museum Tropical Festival.
“The international festival will last one month and be participated in by art teams from a number of countries. We will have the honor of presenting Balinese dances and music,” I Nyoman Hadi Artha, head of the Bali Art Mission, said before leaving Denpasar for the Netherlands.
Budi Artha, who is concurrently head of the Tri Pusaka Sakti Batuan Art Gallery in Gianyar district, said the Indonesian art team would stay in the Ntherlands for one week, until mid-May.
They would perform in two events together with art teams from Taiwan and Japan.
Hadi Artha would also speak at a workshop to be organized as part of the festival. A prominent artist himself, Hadi in February 2006 also spoke at international seminars at Baptist Hong Kong University and Old Hong Kong University. His paper was titled “The Transformation of Balinese Ancient Arts in Contemporary Art Development”.
The Balinese art team would also promote Bali`s tourism in the Netherlands.
Last year, Tri Pusaka Sakti Batuan Art Gallery also took part in an international art festival in Versace, Italy.(*)
ANTARA News
May 11th, 2007
Europe’s largest resort company has identified 1 million to 2 million potential customers in Asia
Beth Jinks and Catherine Yang, Bloomberg
Hong Kong/Bangkok: Club Mediterranee SA, Europe’s largest resort company, said it’s seeking sites to build resorts in Asia, its fastest-growing market, in nations including China and India.
“We’ve doubled the market in Southeast Asia since about two years ago,” Caroline Puechoultres, Club Med’s regional chief executive, said in an interview in Hong Kong today. “We’ve identified 1 million to 2 million potential users in places like China, India and even Southeast Asia.” Resorts in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are also being considered, she said.
The number of people that visited another country increased 4.5% in 2006 to a record, the World Tourism Organization said in January. International tourist visits rose to 842 million last year and may exceed 1.56 billion by 2020, fuelling demand for hotel and resort services, it said.
About 200,000 of Club Med’s 1.6 million members worldwide are in Asia and that number is expected to double in the next few years, Puechoultres said.
Club Med has nine Asia resorts in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives and Polynesia. It takes up to three years to build a new Club Med village “from scratch” and costs between 50 million euros ($67.7 million) and 100 million euros, Puechoultres said.
Terrorism, Tsunamis
Terrorism and recent natural disasters in the region continue to deter some tourists, she said.
Southern Asia is still rebuilding after the December 2004 tsunami killed hundreds of thousands along coastlines. Countries, including Thailand and Indonesia, are tackling terrorists who have targeted tourists in bombing attacks and much of the region is dealing with avian influenza.
While Club Med’s Thailand resort in Phuket has “completely recovered” from the tsunami after a 5 million euro renovation and repair, political instability, an escalating insurgency in the south, bombings in the capital Bangkok and martial law across part of the kingdom since the 19 September coup have taken a toll, Puechoultres said.
Indonesia’s resort island of Bali was hit by bombings in 2002 and 2005, killing hundreds of tourists and locals.
Industrywide, 481 hotels are under construction or planned for China and 198 in India, up from 316 and 161 last September, Lodging Econometrics, a consulting company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, estimated last month. Another 283 hotels are under development in the rest of Asia.
“Asia Pacific will more and more come back as a really growing destination for tourism and Southeast Asia will grow probably the fastest,” Puechoultres said. “The cost of operations is quite low in the region and the sites are just wonderful.”
Source : livemint.com
May 10th, 2007
From Sharullizan Rusli
The “Le Tour De Indonesia” convoy comprising 50 big bike riders and 30 back-ups from Malaysia today completed phase one of their 2,400km journey from Medan to the southernmost tip of Sumatra, Bandar Lampung.
The convoy, led by Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, later crossed the Sunda straits by ferry to reach Java in two hours.
They arrived at the Malaysian Embassy here at 3pm local time and were received by Ambassador Datuk Zainal Abidin Zain and Tourism Malaysia officials.
Ahmad Zahid told reporters that he was happy with the warm reception given by the Indonesians.
“In the journey, I met a former Indonesian commando who parachuted into Pangkor Island during the confrontation but was unable to bring himself to shoot a Malay, knowing that they were of the same race,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said phase two of the expedition would start from Jakarta and end in Kuta, Bali, on May 15 — a 1,000 kilometre distance.
Source : BERNAMA.COM
May 9th, 2007
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The number of foreign tourists who arrived in Indonesia through 15 entry ports in the first quarter of 2007 was recorded at over 1 million or up by 14.21 percent from a corresponding period last year when the figure was 877,000, the country`s chief statistician said.
The number of foreign tourists visiting the country in March 2007 was recorded at 361.800, an increase by 15.34 percent from the corresponding month last year, Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) chairman Rusman Heriawan said here Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists who visited the popular resort island of Bali in March 2007 significantly increased by 40.44 percent compared to the corresponding month last year. It stood at 124.900 in February 2007 compared to 123.200 in February 2006.
The increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali showed that the tourism sector in the resort island had returned to the level before the terror bombings in 2002.
“The number has continued to increase although February and March are not peak-season months. It is important for the economic sector, notably the tourism industry,” Rusman said.
He also said the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in 10 tourist destination areas in Indonesia in February 2007 was recorded at 46.08 percent, an increase by 1.74 percent compared to January 2007.
The occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in Bali also increased from 44.69 percent in January 2007 to 48.91 percent in February 2007. (*)
Source : ANTARA News
May 8th, 2007
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