Tourists remain but impact unclear for troubled Bali

Sunday, 06 Oct, 2005 0

The majority of tourists in Bali have chosen to remain on the island despite the weekend’s bombings, the Pacific Asia Travel Association has claimed.

PATA vice president of development Peter Semone, who has been in Kuta since Sunday, said it is difficult to estimate the longer term impact but said visitors “are continuing to enjoy their holidays.”

“It is very different from the October 2002 bombing,” said Semone. “Activity by tourists and locals continues. It seems that tourists are becoming more resilient to these sorts of events. As you walk around the streets of Jimbaran and Kuta one would almost think that nothing has happened. People are still dining in restaurants, walking around and shopping.”

A spokesman for the Bali Hotel Association said occupancy rates at most properties have remained stable with only a few early check-outs.

The relatively positive outlook was backed up by long haul operator Kuoni which said none of its 160 customers in Bali had elected to return home.

But significantly, a spokeswoman added that 27% of customers with forward bookings had decided to amend their arrangements although she declined to reveal exact figures.

“Customers due to travel before October 9 can change their holidays free of charge. After that we will review each case on its individual merits,” she said.

Despite the resilience of tourists already in Bali, a decline in visitors is inevitable.

In the first eight months of 2003, the year after the bombings that left almost 200 dead, visitor numbers from the UK plummeted from 71,000 to 33,500 with total international visitors falling from 964,000 to 610,000.

The following year they fell again from the UK, to 32,300 – the only country to show a decline – before showing a market increase this year with 52,600 Brits visiting in the first eight months. The international market had also now fully recovered with more than one million holidaying on the island.

Now, Bali is once again bracing itself for the worst.

Report by Steve Jones