Natural calamities keep tourists away from Indonesia

India
Natural calamities keep tourists away from Indonesia
By DPA, Dec 27, 2006 - 5:09:30 PM

Yogyakarta -, Dec 27 - Natural and man-made disasters have kept tourists away from Indonesia's prime destinations.

With a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and the world's second largest shoreline, a tropical climate throughout the year, coral reefs, exotic wildlife, volcanoes and inland waterways, Indonesia is a nature lover's paradise.

But a string of calamities - from terrorist bombings, earthquakes and tsunamis, to bird flu outbreaks that have killed at least 57 people since the spread of the disease last year - have taken their toll on the tourism industry.

The number of foreign visitors dropped by nearly 8 percent in the first 10 months of this year to 3.2 million when compared to the same period last year of 3.5 million visitors, according to the Central Statistics Agency.

Indonesia has set a target of 5 million visitors this year.

'I have not seen any foreign tourists go back and forth on this street like before the May earthquake,' Tugiman, a taxi driver at Yogyakarta's main street, told DPA.

The May 6.3-magnitude Java earthquake killed 6,000 people and damaged many buildings in Yogyakarta, home to thousands of temples dating back to the 9th century.

Adding to the fears is the rumbling Mount Merapi volcano - just north of Yogyakarta.

Condroyono, head of Yogyakarta's regional tourism agency, however, expressed confidence that with hard work and extensive promotion, tourist arrivals in the city will recover by mid-2007.

'The outlook for Yogyakarta's tourism related business industries remains positive. We saw there are signs of recovery in regard to foreign tourists visiting here,' he said.

'We are strongly optimistic that the tourist inflow will be back to normal next year.'

Looking on the bright side, Condroyono said Merapi's lava fields have become a 'new' tourist destination for hundreds of local tourists and a smattering of foreigners.

It is not the first time Indonesia has had to convince tourists to come back. Bali, considered the gem of Indonesia's tourism industry, was just beginning to rebound after the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, when suicide bombers struck again in 2005, causing tourist numbers to plummet.

Next year 'Beautiful Bali Indonesia' will be used as the tag to promote tourism in Indonesia.

'We need to strengthen Bali as an icon for Indonesia, like Taj Mahal for India or the Petronas Tower for Malaysia,' Vice President Jusuf Kalla was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik admitted that Indonesia is losing out on tourist arrivals compared to neighbouring countries, and blamed it partly on limited promotion funds - explaining that Indonesia's tourist promotion budget only amounted to $10 million in 2007, compared with Malaysia's spending of $60 million on its 'Truly Asia' campaign.

'There must be cooperation from all parties concerned - tourist operators, the government as well as the public,' said Condroyono.

Ever the optimist, Condroyono said: 'Earthquakes and Mount Merapi's volcano rumblings could even help this ancient Javanese cultural city become more popular among foreigners.'

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