Archive for November, 2008
Bali may be one of the main targets for terrorist action in the 21st century, but that doesn’t seem to deter luxurious businesses.
Despite two bombings in the past four years, the island still attracts investors for super-luxury hotels for the rich and famous.
Following the establishment of hotels like the Konrad and the Ritz-Carlton, Italy’s Bulgari - famous for watches and jewellery, but now expanding into the luxury accommodation business - has opened a hotel in the hills of Bali’s southwest.
It’s a daring move, as Bali is not fully recovered from its economic slump after recent attacks aimed at foreign tourists.
But Bulgari’s chief executive believes Bali is resilient.
“I believe that the bombings will hurt only for a short time, but eventually the tourism will go up again,” Francesco Trapani says, “because Bali has the history, beauty and kindness of the people.”
The 2005 suicide bombings at Kuta and Jimbaran killed 20 innocent people, including four Australians, and had a heavy impact on tourism.
The number of foreign tourists arriving in Bali has dropped more than 26 per cent since last year, and for Australian tourists the decline is even worse, at 57 per cent.
But the Balinese believe the opening of exclusive hotels like Bulgari will help restore international confidence.
“Looking at Bulgari, which has set a high standard of service and price, and they think it can be reached, I think it will bring the tourism market to a higher segmentation,” Bali tourism board executive director Wiwin Suyasa said.
“It proves that Bali can achieve that target level, and adds to our pride and confidence as a main tourist destination,” Suyasa said.
It will also help reduce unemployment.
“This new hotel will help absorb unemployment caused by many hotels’ lay-offs after the 2005 bombings,” Badung district vice-regent Ketut Sudikerta said.
The building of luxurious hotels in Bali also shows there is a change of market sentiment from group travel to individual travel. While group travellers choose to stay in big, international-chain hotels, the growing numbers of individual travellers prefer to try unique and private ways to enjoy their leisure.
Japanese sentiment plays a big part in shaping the tourism market in Bali, because more visitors come from Japan than from any other country.
Japan is also the target market for the Bulgari hotel.
“Asia for us is a strong market. Bulgari have a big business in Japan, and we know that Bali is a Japanese destination point,” Trapani said.
Bulgari’s rates start at $1,300 per night and go up to $14,000.
The local government supports the idea, promising total secrecy and privacy for VIP guests. “We have celebrities and important figures holidaying in Bali and so far we believe we always keep the secrecy of their presence in our area, we assure that,” vice-regent Sudikerta said.
But he still will not tolerate drugs. “Drugs is an exception,” he said. “Indonesia is very tough on drugs, and has recently sentenced six young Australians to death for heroin trafficking.”
AAP
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/
November 28th, 2008
It took Dutch troops five days to reach the outskirts of Denpasar. Surrounded by superior forces, Balinese royalty and religious leaders decided to take the honourable path of a suicidal puputan - a fight to the death - rather than surrender. First the palaces were burnt, then - dressed in their finest jewellery and waving golden daggers - the rajah led the royalty and priests out to face the Dutch and their modern weapons. The Dutch begged the Balinese to surrender, but their pleas went unheard and wave after wave of Balinese nobility marched forward to their death. In all, nearly 4000 Balinese died.
As other local kingdoms capitulated or were defeated, the entire island came under Dutch control and became a part of the Dutch East Indies. There was little development of exploitative plantation economy on Bali, and common people noticed very little difference between rule by the Dutch and rule by the rajahs. Despite the long prelude to colonisation, Dutch rule over Bali was short-lived; Indonesia soon fell to the Japanese in WWII.
At the end of WWII, the Indonesian leader Soekarno proclaimed independence, but it took 4 more years to persuade the Dutch that they were not going to get their colony back. In a virtual repeat of the puputan nearly half a century earlier, a Balinese resistance group was wiped out in the Battle of Marga in 1946. In 1949, the Dutch finally recognised Indonesia’s independence. In 1965, an attempted coup blamed on communists led to Soekarno’s downfall. General Soeharto suppressed the coup and emerged as a major political figure.
The Communist Party was outlawed and a wave of anti-communist reprisals followed. On Bali, local communists were perceived as a threat to traditional values and the caste system because of their calls for land reform and an end to social repression. Religious traditionalists took advantage of the post-coup hysteria and led a witch hunt against communist sympathisers. Mobs rounded up suspected communists and clubbed them to death. The Chinese community was particularly victimised before the army stepped in and restored order, but no-one on Bali was untouched by the killings. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people were killed, at a time when the island’s population only totalled two million.
Soeharto established himself as president, and under his government Indonesia looked to the West for alliances and investments. On Bali, economic growth and dramatic improvements in infrastructure were achieved by hugely expanding the tourist industry. This also resulted in the displacement of local populations and disruption of many traditional communities.
Recent History
The end of the reign of Soeharto in 1998 threw the entire country into a maelstrom of change and turmoil. For some time it seemed that Bali was to be spared much of the anguish experienced on other islands in the archipelago. But the bomb attacks targeting Westerners that killed about 200 people near Kuta Beach on 12 October 2002 ravaged the tourism industry and destroyed any such complacency. It took about a year, during which the Balinese were in a kind of shock, but tourism recovered and 2004 was one of the best years on record for visits. More bombs in October 2005 killed about 20, and this time visitors did not return in previous numbers. With tourism at the centre of the local economy, the Balinese are at a crossroads in deciding their future direction.
Pre 20th Century History
There are few traces of Stone Age people on Bali, although it’s almost certain that the island was inhabited very early in prehistoric times. There is also little known about Bali during the period when Indian traders brought Hinduism to the Indonesian archipelago. The earliest written records are inscriptions on a stone pillar near Sanur dating from around the 9th century AD. Hindu Java began to spread its influence into Bali in the first half of the 11th century, when the rock-cut memorials at Gunung Kawi were sculpted.
The Javanese Singasari dynasty conquered Bali in 1284, but when it collapsed shortly afterwards Bali regained its autonomy and the Pejeng dynasty, centred near modern-day Ubud, rose to great power. The Pejeng king was defeated by the great Majapahit dynasty in 1343 and Bali was brought back under Javanese influence. As Islam took hold in Java in the 15th century, the Majapahit kingdom collapsed and many of its intelligentsia moved to Bali. They included key priests who were credited with introducing many of the complexities of Balinese religion. Javanese artists, dancers and musicians also sought sanctuary in Bali, and the island experienced an explosion of cultural activity.
The first Europeans to set foot on Bali were Dutch seamen in 1597. Setting a tradition that has prevailed to the present day, they fell in love with the island and, when the ship’s captain prepared to set sail, several of his crew refused to come with him. By the early 1600s the Dutch had established trade treaties with Javanese princes and had wrestled control of the spice trade from the Portuguese. They were, however, more interested in profit than culture and hardly gave Bali a second glance.
In the early 18th century, as local rule in Bali began to fracture, the Dutch began muscling in using the tried and tested divide-and-rule policy. They used Balinese salvage claims over shipwrecks as a pretext to land military forces in northern Bali in 1846. Teaming up with the Sasaks of Lombok to defeat the rajahs of Bali proved a bad tactic when the Sasaks changed their minds and slaughtered the Dutch. This incensed the Dutch so much that they invaded Bali with a heavy military force and severed its control of its smaller neighbour. With the north under Dutch control and ties with Lombok severed, the south of Bali was not going to remain autonomous for long. Another salvage dispute resulted in Dutch warships appearing off Sanur in 1906.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/travel
November 28th, 2008
Denpasar (ANTARA News) - After having been littered with tons of dead fish, Kuta beach in Bali is now being polluted by garbage brought there by sea waves including non-degradable plastic trash and animal remains.
“No mor dead fishes are to be found there but they have been replaced by garbage” said I Gusti Ngurah Tresna, chief of the Kuta beach task force.
He said the phenomena recur during a period locals call “western wind season” before December.
“The climate has begun to change and western winds are now coming, bringing garbage from the sea to the shore,” Trensa said.
The task force chief noted that the garbage has been piling up for five days on the beach. Some 20 trucks were being deployed to clean up the area.
“Everyday we, helped by local hawkers, collect the garbage and place them in the southern area near the cemetery to be taken by Badung sanitary workers,” he said.
The garbage would be piling up in December, Tresna said, adding that last year its volume reached 1,000 truckloads.
The garbage may disturb tourism activities on Kuta beach. Besides bad weather, many tourists had canceled their intention to sunbathe and swim on the beach due to the garbage piles.
“We continuously inform the tourists about this annual happening to prevent misperception about Kuta beach,” Tresna said.
In the future, he expected that not only the task force and the government but also tourism businesspeople would be involved in the handling of the garbage. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Source: ANTARA News
November 27th, 2008
Bali will spend nearly Rp 400 million (US$3,200) to plant the seeds of 1.35 million trees next year, as part of the central government’s plan to “green up” the island in anticipation of environmental disasters.
The seeds, including chestnut and mahogany, will be planted inside and outside forests all across Bali, said Dewa Dharma Putra, head of the environmental division of the province’s Regional Development Planning Agency.
“However, this is just the number of seeds we will plant, we cannot foresee how many of them will actually grow into trees,” he stressed.
Dharma Putra said areas such as southern Badung suffered from a lack of absorption areas, making them prone to floods, while other areas, such as the Seraya district in Karangasem Regency suffered from extreme drought, which might lead to fires.
He added that the areas were categorized according to the state of their degradation, from extremely critical to critical to slightly critical and so on.
“Karangasem has one of the widest critical areas, while areas in southern Badung such as Kuta, Pecatu and Nusa Dua are also categorized as critical and are among our main priorities.”
The southern Badung area is the island’s main tourism region.
The program, which is part of the Gerhan (forests and field rehabilitation movement) initiative launched by the government in 2004, actually began in Bali in 2006; it has simply been renamed the “Green Bali” program.
The aim of the program is to plant local trees and reduce deforested areas in Bali by a minimum of 9,000 hectares every year.
The latest report from the agency revealed that 20,000 hectares of land in Bali remain in critical condition, a reduction from the 55,000 hectares identified in 2004.
He further estimated that as many as 2.5 hectares of the island’s mangrove forests - also a target of the “Green Bali” program - remain in critical need.
When asked about the exact impact of the “Green Bali” movement, Dewa Dharma said several regional agencies, which include the provincial, regional and municipal forestry agencies were still working on identifying the newly improved areas.
“According to our temporary data, there has been a significant reduction in the number of critical areas, but we’re still re-capping the exact number. We are doing this along with the identification phase,” he said.
This latest data, he said, would serve as a guideline for the agency’s future “Green Bali” program, including setting benchmarks of how many of the trees should be planted each year.
Meanwhile, Putu Subagiartha, head of the Bali Regional Development Planning Agency, hoped the re-planting program could increase the island’s attractiveness to tourists.
“We have to prove that we can conserve our environment as well as develop our tourism industry at the same time,” he said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
November 26th, 2008
JAKARTA: The 2008 International Bali Open billiard tournament, to be held next week, will include the top four finishers from the A Mild Students League.
“The best four will be sent to Bali to join the international tourney as second-level participants in the main round, which means they don’t have to go through the qualifying rounds,” Soedarjanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Billiards and Snooker Association, said Sunday.
“That’s a good reward for them as it may lead them to a professional path,” he said on the sidelines of the league final at Berlian Billiard in Jakarta, which featured 16 finalists.
The first two editions of the Bali Open, in 2005 and 2006, were won by Filipino Francisco Bustamante. The open did not take place in 2007 because of financial troubles.
This year’s event will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6. –JP/Niken Prathivi
Source: The Jakarta Post
November 25th, 2008
Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Bali exported as many as 750,000 paintings in various types and sizes in the January-September period in 2008 earning some US$ 2.5 million in foreign exchange from the activity, according to a report released by the province`s industry and trade office.
The cited figures meant the province`s fine arts business had grown by 62 percent compared to a corresponding period in 2007 when it earned only US$ 1.5 million from painting exports.
With the gain, it was expected local artists, young ones in particular, would be motivated to improve their creative works and increase their welfare at the same time.
Made Sunarta, a young painter from Ubud, said he hoped Bali`s security conditions would remain good and stable so that local and foreign collectors would feel safe to come to Bali to hunt paintings.
He said Bali`s artist community now realized the vital importance of good security conditions because they were also severely affected by the downturn in tourist arrivals following the terror bomb attacks on their island a few years ago.
Bali artists now welcomed the increasing number of visiting tourists that was expected to have a positive effect on the sale of various art works including paintings, he said.
(*)
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Source: ANTARA News
November 24th, 2008
InterContinental Bali Resort takes great pleasure in announcing the recent appointment of Ms. Saraswati Subadia as Director of Sales. She is replacing Ms. Justina Puspawati who was promoted to Director of Sales, Bali Resorts following the formation of a new sales cluster to support the IHG resorts in Bali.
Born and raised on the island of Bali, Saraswati graduated with a diploma in Tourism Management from the STP College Nusa Dua. She first embarked on a career within the hospitality industry in 2000 working as an Account Executive for Dimension in Bali, a reputable destination management company. Saraswati was later promoted to Senior Account Executive for the same establishment and also had the opportunity to work briefly for a local Event Organiser as Business Development Manager.
In 2004 Saraswati joined Hard Rock Hotel Bali as Assistant Sales Manager for Banquet & MICE where she was instrumental in generating business and coordinating all aspects of events staged at the property. Saraswati was soon rewarded for her efforts and embraced the challenge of a more senior role at the hotel as Sales Manager Corporate & Banquet.
Saraswati decided to develop her skills at a larger corporate property and accepted a role at InterContinental Bali Resort as Senior Sales Manager in 2006. Her dedication and abilities were soon recognised and she was quickly promoted to Associate Director of Sales MICE, a position that she has held successfully up until this latest appointment.
As Director of Sales, Saraswati will assume responsibility for all aspects of the sales department and manage a team of five staff members. Her wealth of knowledge regarding not only the MICE and wholesale travel sectors, but also the cultural and artistic attributes of Bali is a solid grounding for her new role. Saraswati will report directly to Ms. Suzette Deveau, Area Director of Sales & Marketing for IHG Indonesia/Malaysia Resorts.
Blessed by an endless stretch of white sand beach overlooking the tranquil waters of Jimbaran Bay, InterContinental Bali Resort features 418 guest rooms in three unique levels of accommodation. The property embraces a 14 hectare tropical landscape that is a blend of indigenous flora, gentle waterways and stone statues reflecting the island’s artistic heritage. There are six swimming pools, Planet Trekkers children’s resort, a fitness centre and plenty of recreational activities to keep guests occupied throughout the day. Spa Uluwatu is a dedicated healing and beauty facility for individual sessions, while the exclusive Villa Retreats promises indulging spa packages for couples. A superb choice of restaurant venues make every dining experience an adventure in culinary excellence.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has over 150 hotels, located in more than 60 countries with local insight that comes from over 60 years’ experience. At InterContinental we believe that superior, understated service and outstanding facilities are important, but what makes us truly different, is the genuine interest we show in our guests. Our desire is to help guests make the most of their time. We connect our well-traveled guests to what’s special about a destination, by sharing our knowledge so they enjoy authentic experiences that will enrich their lives and broaden their outlook.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/
November 24th, 2008
Sunetra Nayak
CUTTACK, Nov. 20: In today’s times the Bali Jatra may be more about the glitz, the lights and the giant wheel, but even after so many years the popularity of traditional handicraft and items have not diminished.
The ‘grandma’s antique’ still hold sway at the fair despite the onslaught of multi-crore advertisement blitz backed electronic gadgets and home appliances. Modern housewives would shrug their shoulders and give dismissive looks at many of the time tested traditional appliances but the fact is that these items continue to sell like hot cakes at the famous Bali Jatra.
No authentic Oriya household is complete without the shila or the traditional stone grinder sitting quietly in a corner of the kitchen. Although whizzing electronic gadgets such as mixers, grinders and blenders now occupy pride of place on the kitchen counter, old timers still swear by the distinct taste of fish curry made with shila ground mustard paste.
That the demand for the shila has not reduced is proved by the diligence with which 40-year-old Jaleswar Behera of Thoriapatna has been coming to sell the stone grinder at the fair for the last 20 years. “Labourers make these stone grinders at different places in the state and they are accordingly categorised as Naraj shila, Lalitgiri shila, Nayagarh shila and so on. Each piece sells for Rs 100 to Rs 250 depending on the kind of stone used,” Behera said.
Although he has not sold many pieces this year yet, Behera is optimistic that business will pick up. “During the first few days people come to enjoy themselves. The real sale of these heavy stone grinders take place usually on the last day of the fair,” he said.
Forty four year old Prabhati Sahu sitting at her stall amidst iron implements including paniki, katuri, sickles and even rose cake frames is also hopeful of making a good profit this year. “People usually wait till the last day to buy these implements since they believe they will get a good bargain at the end of the fair. But business has not been bad so far,” she said. “I have made decent profit in the last eight years. We now sell a few wooden items such as pedhas and dali ghotani along with the iron implements,” she said.
However, for others like 30-year-old bamboo craftsman Bhagabata Jena, earning a profit is getting increasingly difficult.
“People are still eager to buy bamboo products such as kulla, tokei, pachia, jhudi, changudi and bainsiya. But the cost of production has risen while the profits have reduced. While a kulla sells for Rs 20, a bamboo piece costs Rs 30. Since I make the articles myself I do not mind it, plus my family has been in this business for the last 50 years. The demand has not decreased, in fact there are people who wait for the entire year to buy a kulla from the Bali Jatra,” he said.
Yet another item that is almost synonymous with the Bali Jatra is sukhua or dried fish.
Love it or hate it but the one thing that can not be ignored is the distinct smell of all kinds of sea and fresh water dried fish including chingudi sukhua, pita sukhua, bali kokali, kau kokali, marua and ilisi sukhua that strikes visitors even before they reach the fair.
“I come from my village in Sunakhala to sell sukhua here every year. The stock is bought from fishermen in Paradip and is sold here from Rs 100 to Rs 200 per kilogram. Profit is good since people from all walks of life and all sections of society buy these products even though children rush past the sukhua heaps with crinkled noses,” said a laughing Surama Behera.
Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/
November 21st, 2008
On 12 November Garuda Orient Holidays (GOH) and Garuda Indonesia (GA) hosted the fifth annual ‘Bali Achievement Awards and Appreciation Cocktails’ function for almost 100 Bali hotels and activity suppliers at the exclusive Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali.
Each year the function brings together General Managers and senior representatives from across Bali’s tourism and hospitality industry, which has seen a strong revival from the Australian market in recent years, and the event is now a regular feature on the Bali industry social calendar!
Almost 200 hotels and suppliers work with GOH and GA through their “Bali on ANY budget” product. This year the event enabled not only the wholesaler’s Management, but also all of GA’s Australia-based General Managers and Sales and Marketing teams, to meet face to face with a large number of these industry colleagues and to personally thank them for their support in the past year.
“Garuda Orient Holidays and Garuda Indonesia in Australia have always invested heavily, both financially and emotionally, in the promotion of our favourite island destination” says Mr Poerwoko Soeparyono, Director of GOH and Senior General Manager Australia & Southwest Pacific for GA.
“We do this with confidence knowing that our Bali suppliers will always stand with us and offer every possible assistance. There is no doubt that this cooperation has played a significant role in Australia’s return to its traditional position as the second largest source market for visitors to Bali,”
Appreciation plaques were awarded to selected hotels and attractions throughout Bali, reflecting not only high achievements in sales, but also popularity amongst our customers and staff, as well as for valued ongoing support both in Bali and on the ground here in Australia.
Award categories included:
Highest Overall Sales for Resort
Highest Overall Sales for Attraction / Activity
Highest Sales Growth
Most Popular “Discover Luxury” Hotel
GOH Managers Choice
Most Popular Boutique/Villa Property
Most Popular Family Friendly Property
GOH People’s Choice 2008
All award winning hotels and activity suppliers are featured in Garuda Indonesia’s “Bali on ANY budget” brochure.
As always, attendance was high, the venue was stunning, the company scintillating and a great time was had by all.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/
November 21st, 2008
Indah Setiawati
Bali is unlikely to reach its target of 6 percent economic growth this year because of dwindling orders for non-oil products from countries hit by the global financial crisis, the Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS) says.
“We forecast growth at 5.9 percent because exports are slow and the number of tourists at the end of the year may not be high enough to boost the growth,” Bali BPS head Ida Komang Wisnu told The Jakarta Post after a media briefing Tuesday.
With the economy growing by 4.55 percent from January to September this year, the island still needs growth of 1.47 percent during the last three months of the year.
Exports in the third quarter were 7.48 percent lower than in the second quarter, although they were 11.68 percent higher than in the same period last year, according to the BPS.
The main contributors of growth in the third quarter were trade, hospitality and agriculture, head of the BPS statistical analysis division Yudhadi said.
But consumer spending remains the island’s economic engine, contributing 57.47 percent of growth, 10 percent of which came from the administration.
“Well, this is not a very good sign of growth. It would be much better if investment played the major role,” he said.
Wisnu said inflation at the end of the year would be far from the projection of 6 percent, as inflation from January to October reached 8.83 percent in Denpasar.
He said the inflation figure would not fall, but the government’s plan to decrease the price of subsidized fuel could offset it.
“Inflation is easily affected by the public perception. The plan to decrease the fuel price is a chance to control it,” he said.
Although many parts of Indonesia, especially Java, see a rise in inflation at the end of each year because of Christmas and New Year celebrations, Wisnu said inflation in Bali usually remained stable during that period.
“Historically, Bali never sees soaring inflation in November and December. October alone saw only 0.32 percent inflation. I think we may not reach two digits for inflation at the end of the year, or we may just reach it,” he said.
The Bali branch of the Bank Indonesia earlier made the same forecast for economic growth, putting it at 5.9 percent at the end of this year, with inflation at 9.28 percent as of September, below the national average of 12.4 percent.
Source: The Jakarta Post
November 20th, 2008
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