Archive for January, 2009
While the number of tourists visiting Bali from Europe and the United States might drop, tourists from the Asia-Pacific countries will increase, a noted tourism association has predicted.
The Bali chapter of the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) predicted that tourists from European countries and the US may drop by 40 percent this year compared to last year. “Tourists from Europe and the US will be those worse hit by the global financial crisis. Furthermore, the flights from Europe and the US (to Bali) are the most expensive,” ASITA Bali chapter chairman Aloysius Purwa said in Denpasar on Saturday.
In 2008, the number of tourists from the United States reached an average of 5,000 per month, while tourists from European countries reached an average of 40,000.
However, he noted that the financial crisis could persuade tourists from the Asia-Pacific countries to change their holiday destinations from crisis-hit countries to Bali. He predicted a 10 percent increase in the number of tourists coming from countries such as Japan, Taiwan, China and Malaysia.
He said the upcoming 2009 election may bring more domestic tourists to Bali, citing a traditional upsurge in domestic travel during the campaign season.
“This is usually caused by parties campaigning around the country accompanied by their supporters,” Purwa said.
course this could mean that they may travel to holiday spots during their stopovers. They are tourists too, in a sense.”
According to data from the Bali Tourism Agency, the number of tourists coming to Bali reached 1.9 million last year. Japanese tourists remain in the top spot as the largest contributor to the island’s tourism industry, with Australia coming in second and Taiwan third.
The tourism agency has cut its target of tourists from 2.1 million to 1.8 million this year, citing the financial crisis as its main reason.
had aimed for 2.1 million based on data from the past five years, but we have decided to reduce that target to a more realistic 1.8 million due to the global financial crisis,” Bali Tourism Agency Chief Gede Nurjaya said.
Meanwhile, Bali Tourism Board Chief Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya was optimistic that the predicted increase in the number of Asian tourists could help the island exceed its target of 1.8 million tourists this year.
“I am very optimistic that we can exceed the government’s target, because aside from getting a lot of cancellations, we have also been getting a lot of reservations,” he said.Komang Erviani
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 21st, 2009
Indah Setiawati , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar
The Association of Spa Product Producers (Appro Spa) in Bali is urging the government to make the permit process simpler and clearer to help boost growth of the small industry.
Association chairman Wayan Sukhana said that although the permits were necessary to certify that a company’s spa products were safe, the time-consuming process for acquiring a permit could discourage new businesses.
“I hope the government, especially the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), will make getting a permit faster and easier for small businesses,” he said Thursday.
Wayan said spa product makers still had to go through several different processes, including for waste management and building permits, before they could register their products with BPOM in Jakarta.
Another industry-specific permit required is the Good Cosmetics Manufacturing certificate, which is important when competing with products from other countries, Wayan said.
He said the permits would play an important role in gaining customers’ trust both to reach wider markets and as protection during police inspections, Wayan said.
His house on Jl. Kebo Iwa in Denpasar was the target of a police raid last year during the height of concern about cosmetics from China containing hydroquinone and mercury.
Wayan said he was able to save his business by showing officers his permit to run a small medicine product business, even though the police had requested he show a BPOM letter.
Nengah Widana, another maker of spa products, said it was not difficult to get each permit and register his product with BPOM, but that the lengthy process was unbearable - it took him one and half years to get all the necessary permits.
He said it was just as well he had obtained a building permit in his previous business producing incense or it would have taken even longer.
“I wish we could just register our products with the BPOM provincial office instead of going all the way to Jakarta,” he said Saturday.
“If a small industry like ours is not supported, how will our country develop?”
According to another maker of spa products, Made Diksa, the permit process is simple - as long as people had guidance and experience.
“The problem for beginners like me is getting the information about the permitswhat are the requirements and where to go are the basic questions,” he said.
“We need assistance and clear guidance from the related agencies.”
Head of BPOM’s Bali office, Sri Utami Ekaningtyas, said the agency had given regular guidance to spa product makers in Bali and worked with them closely to maintain the quality of their products.
She said that while small-business people still had to go to Jakarta to register their products, the service would eventually become available at the provincial level as the agency upgraded its capability.
“Last October, for example, the BPOM opened a temporary service in Surabaya so people did not need to go to Jakarta to register their products,” Sri told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Sutedja from the Bali Trade and Industry Agency IGN said when contacted Friday that he was unavailable to comment about assistance given to the producers for getting through the long bureaucratic permit processes.
“I am busy right now, I am in a meeting. Make it on Monday at the office,” he said before hanging up.
Appro Spa was established in April last year as requested by the Bali Trade and Industry Agency after the emergence of 11 small businesses focusing on spa products.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 20th, 2009
Andra Wisnu , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR
The regency of Buleleng may be getting another fancy tourism spot as the regent plans to invest money to develop Lake Buyan into an “ecotourism heaven”.
Buleleng Regent Putu Bagiada and investors from PT Anantara said both parties were ready to invest money into developing Lake Buyan into a “Buyan Ecotourism Heaven,” the area’s new name if the plan gets approved.
“We want to restore this area to its original grandeur, with its original culture and its original look,” Bagiada said at the Bali governor’s office Friday.
“This is the concept behind our plan to turn Lake Buyan into ‘Buyan Ecotourism Heaven.’”
Located in the Sukasada district, Lake Buyan is one of the triplet lakes situated within a massive caldera. A vast wild forest separates Lake Buyan from Lake Tamblingan on its west, while on its east lies Lake Beratan.
So far only the area around Lake Beratan has been developed into a tourist destination. Its close proximity with Eka Karya, the island’s largest botanical garden, has made Lake Beratan a favorite weekend getaway for the residents of Bali’s southern urban cities.
Lake Beratan also hosts Ulun Danu, one of the most important water temples on the island.
The three lakes have been getting shallower over the years due to sedimentation and were declared a priority for environmental damage mitigation by the State Ministry for the Environment last year.
Much of the blame for the sedimentation has been aimed at the construction of villas in the areas. Environmental groups say the villas take away water absorption space, causing mud to be carried along into the lakes.
The local agricultural practices, which use chemical fertilizers, have also been blamed for ruining the quality of the lake water.
When asked about what would change if Anantara were to be given the mandate to develop Lake Buyan, Anantara commissioner Liliah Sukoco said the company’s main concern was to maintain the area’s natural beauty.
“I understand the concern over further environmental degradation when a private company manages an environmental spot, but you have to understand that in order to maintain this lake, the local economy has to be improved,” she said.
She said Anantara’s plans to develop the 60-hectare area in and around Lake Buyan, which could absorb up to 1,000 workers, and that one of the company’s plans was to dredge the land under the lake bed to allow it to absorb more water and soil.
“But these are just plans, we are still waiting for the governor’s recommendation before we decide how we want to proceed,” she said.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika did not make any statement on Friday’s presentation, saying only he would consider the proposal.
“We will look into the possible benefits of PT Anantara’s plans,” he said.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com/news
January 19th, 2009
Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The number of Malaysian tourists visiting the Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali in the January - November 2008 period was recorded at 113,409, a statistics agency official said.
“The number of tourists coming from the neighboring country increased by 20,546 or 22.26 percent if compared with that a year earlier which stood at 92,763,” Head of the Central Board of Statistics for Bali office, Ida Komang Wisnu, said here on Friday.
He said that Malaysian tourists were the sixth biggest visitors in the list of foreign tourists coming to Bali from 10 main countries.
Japanese tourists were ranked first in the list with 338,003 visitors, followed by Australians (286,998), South Korea (124,098) and Taiwan (120,810).
Malaysia which was ranked in the sixth place was followed by Germany (77,316), Britain (75,614), France (71,788), the United States (61,770) and a number of other countries with visitors totaling 436,977 tourists, he said.
Ida Komang Wisnu added that the total number of foreign visitors arriving in Bali in the eleven month period last year was 1,823,044. It rose by 20.01 percent (301,980 persons) from the same period in 2007 which stood at 1,521,064.
He said that almost all foreign visitors coming to Bali arrived through Ngurah Rai International Airport. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2009
Source: ANTARA News
January 19th, 2009
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Source: www.etravelblackboard.com
January 16th, 2009
Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR
The number of foreign visitors to Bali is estimated to increase to 6,000 per day by the end of January as more foreign tourists of Chinese origin travel to the island to celebrate their traditional New Year of Imlek.
On normal days Bali receives 5,000 foreign tourists per day.
“A large number of the visitors arriving at the end of January will come from China and Hong Kong,” head of the Bali chapter of the Indonesia Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Aloysius Purwa said Wednesday.
The surge of foreign tourists, Purwa said, would boost the occupancy rate of the island’s hotels to 80 percent. “The average length of stay of Chinese and Hong Kong tourists during Imlek holiday is two or three days,” he said.
So far, the flights from those regions to Bali have been fully booked.
“Some tourists from China have chartered private flights to come to Bali,” he said.
Villa Mahapala’s general manager, Jeffrey Wibisono shared Purwa’s optimism although at a more moderate level.
“We estimate the occupancy rate during Imlek will reach 50 percent; hopefully the number will keep increasing in the coming weeks,” he said.
The company operates 20 units of luxurious villas in Sanur and caters to mostly Korean and Chinese tourists.
Head of Bali Tourism Board (BTB), IB Ngurah Wijaya said Bali was still one of the most favorite destinations for Chinese visitors wanting to celebrate Imlek away from home.
Separately, head of Bali Tourism Agency, I Gede Nurjaya urged the local administration to welcome the surge of Chinese visitors by improving their infrastructures, particularly since the island has entered the rainy season and has just experienced massive flooding in some of its prominent tourist spots.
“Heavy rain and strong winds usually take place during Imlek holidays and the administrations should anticipate the possibility of natural disasters. If flooding takes place during the time of a surge in visitors, then Bali will receive negative appraisals,” he said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 16th, 2009
DENPASAR - Bali’s tourism promotion effort has came in for sharp criticism from the island’s outspoken governor, Made Mangku Pastika.
Comparing Bali’s tourism promotional efforts to the workings of a badly organized three-ring circus, Pastika said Bali’s tourism marketing was ineffective and inefficient.
Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com), quoted a local report that the governor had complained that the results achieved by tourism promotion compared poorly with the amount of money expended.
He said the billions of rupiahs spent to promote tourism were more decorative than meaningful, and focused on “playing” at tourism as opposed to “working” for the tourism industry.
“Those promoting tourism abroad must also be people who really work to promote tourism, and not be on an overseas shopping trip.”
Pastika went on, “There are many cultural delegations sent abroad. When they arrive at their overseas destinations they typically perform before the Indonesian embassy. What use is that? It’s like a circus group without a clear mission.”
The governor urged Bali’s tourism promotion team to spend the billions of rupiahs now dedicated to cultural missions to be diverted to international television promotion.
Pastika said, “Make quality tourism promotion films. After that, show them on CNN and other international television channels. That will be far more useful than stage performances presented abroad.”
Source: http://www.australia.to/
January 15th, 2009
Not many would recognize the name “Ngurah Rai International Airport,” but many have flown into it: It’s the arrival point for anyone visiting Bali and it’s more commonly referred to as Denpasar. Whatever you call it, it’s in for quite a few changes, judging by the announcements made this week by Indonesian VP Jusuf Kalla.
The problem right now is that the airport’s capacity is really only 2 million passengers a year–yet 4 million people are arriving in Bali annually. Quite rightly, authorities have decided that a $110 million expansion is needed, and so the terminal that currently services domestic air traffic will be enlarged. Once it’s done, it’ll become the international terminal.
An interesting part of the planning is that no commercial shops will be built in the new terminal. Officials say that since Bali is known for its “traditional art markets” in the tourist areas, there shouldn’t be a bunch of new airport shops to compete with them. And here we were thinking airport shops were meant to be tear-the-last-foreign-currency-out-of-you pit stops.
Shops or not, the new Bali airport is meant to be finished during 2010. But let us be the first to say that we think “island time” will make that 2012.
Source: www.jaunted.com/story
January 14th, 2009
The ongoing financial crisis has started to impact the islands’s small-scale industries, prompting artisans and art store owners in Gianyar regency to ask the local administration to assist them to cope with decreasing orders and dwindling foreign visitors.
Gianyar has long been known as Bali’s craft center, hosting Sukawati and Guwang, the province’s largest handicraft markets. In this regency, art stores and handicraft workshop are generally owned and ran by local artisans or their families.
Their request is simple: the local administration boost promotional efforts to attract more tourists to visit the island in this time of crisis.
“The local government should somehow find a way to promote the island, to make tourists come again,” an artisan, Chamim, said.
He owns a workshop, which produces unique and elaborate, decorated lamps, on Jl. Pandu, Gianyar, and a handicraft store in Ubud. European countries are the primary market of his products.
“My shop in Ubud is getting quieter and my workshop received fewer orders. The orders decreased by 80 percent,” he said, adding that paying his workers’ salary suddenly became a burden too heavy to shoulder.
A similar slowdown has been experienced by brass and bronze handicrafts in Batubulan village, stone sculptures and carvings in Singapadu village and wooden carvings and paintings in Ubud.
Wayan Rupi, the owner of Yuyu wooden carving art shop, shared Chamim’s opinion about tourism promotion, saying she only saw one or two visitors each day compared to 10 guests she usually served prior to the financial crisis.
Most craft shop owners in Gianyar, including Chamim and Rupi, do not have the financial capability and required networks to promote their products abroad. Naturally, they rely on the local administration’s tourism promotion campaigns.
Their hope for better tourism promotion campaign this year may not turn into a reality as the Bali Provincial Administration has slashed the promotion budget from Rp 5 billion to 4 billion.
Earlier, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the reduction was aimed at making the provincial tourism agency work more efficiently and effectively.
He believed many campaign programs did not yield satisfactory results since many officials failed to carry out their duty properly while participating in promotional campaigns abroad.
“I learned that of five officers sent abroad to promote the island, only two work seriously, while the rest may go shopping or sightseeing,” he said.
He said he expected more advertisements to appear during foreign televisions’ top programs and for more flyers to available at every embassy.
Pastika said this year’s promotion would focus on domestic tourists and loyal markets such as Japan and Australia.
In order to cope with the slowdown, several artisans have started selling their products at lower prices.
Putu Suci, 48, an owner of a stone carving shop, said she gave discounts to persuade customers to buy more or to return to her shop in the future. Despite the marketing gimmick, her shop has seen no visitors in the last few days.
“During these quiet days, I just try to maintain the flow of money and empty the shelves. I set aside the thought of raking in a profit because the most important thing is to pay our workers,” she said Wednesday.
She said the income from the shop was not enough to meet the daily needs so her family relied on her husband’s salary as a physical education teacher at a junior high school.
“We will pray and try to survive,” Suci said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 13th, 2009
DENPASAR: The Bali chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) forecasts that the export value of Bali’s handicrafts and souvenirs to Europe and America will remain steady in the first quarter of the year.
“Because we will still be fulfilling the orders we received in September,” head of the Apindo chapter Panudiana Kuhn said Monday as quoted by beritabali.com
Panudiana said the export value would begin to decline in April, adding that Bali producers should expect a greater number of small orders and a lower number of bulk orders.
“Maybe there will be no more orders in April. We will start to feel the impact of the ongoing global economic crisis,” he said, adding that the export growth would decrease by 10 percent.
Apindo data shows Bali exports on average a total of US$500 million in products per year. — JP
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 12th, 2009
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