Local News

“Cowboys” Kerfuffl e Seen as No Threat to Tourism

As Bali Police move forward with their investigation into the controversial documentary “Cowboys in Paradise,” the local tourism board shrugged off the fi lm, saying it would not have a signifi cant impact on the resort island.

Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra said on Sunday they now had enough evidence to summon the fi lm’s director, Singaporean Amit Virmani.

“According to our investigation, the movie did not have a permit [to shoot],” Sugianyar said, adding that police had questioned two more offi cials - Bali Cultural and Tourism Agency head Ida Bagus Sedhawa and the head of the agency’s Film Department, Ketut Arcana.

According Ketut, any fi lm shoot on the island had to have a permit from the agency and the police. After a fi lmmaker receives a permit, he said, the police will monitor the shoot.

He said all footage then had to be sent to the local fi lm agency, and a panel of offi cials from the police, prosecutors, immigration, customs and excise, religious affairs and cultural and tourism departments would decide if the movie was suitable for viewing.

“None of these conditions were observed in the

making of ‘Cowboys in Paradise’,” Ketut said. Police spokesman Sugianyar said gathering testimony from experts was important to strengthen the case.

“With that, we have a strong basis to summon the movie’s director,” he said.

But Ida said he was confi dent the documentary, which portrays so-called gigolos in Kuta, would not affect the number of tourists visiting the province.

“Culture and the natural beauty of Bali remain the primary factors for most of the tourists visiting Bali. It is not about prostitution,” he said.

Ida added that all the attention paid to the documentary would soon fade and leave no lasting negative impression of Bali.

He did not deny there were gigolos in Kuta, but said there were just a few of them. “In the tourism industry everywhere this exists, whether it is out in the open or secret. This is normal,” he said.

Local leader Made Piping agreed. Made said it was only natural there would be gigolos in Kuta because foreign tourist were attracted to the beach boys.

“But this is not a prostitution industry that is well- organized,” Made said. (May 3rd

2010, Jakarta Globe)

Foreign Tourist Target on Track as Arrivals to Indonesia Rise 14%

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia during the fi rst quarter climbed 14.5 percent over the same period last year, the Central Statistics Agency announced on Monday.

This put the country on track to reaching its goal of nearly seven million foreign visitors this year.

There were 1.61 foreign tourists in the fi rst three months of the year, compared with 1.41 million during the same quarter last year, said the agency, also known as the BPS.

Noviendi Makalam, secretary of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said that with the high season still ahead, the country was set to reach the government’s goal of 6.75 to seven million foreign tourists this year.

Noviendi added that if double-digit growth continued for the rest of the year the target would be easily surpassed.

“We only projected an 8 percent increase this year,” Noviendi said. But he also warned that an unanticipated event such as an earthquake or another major terrorist attack or demonstrations such as the ones paralyzing Bankgok, could derail growth.

“Tourism is a sector that is sensitive to security

issues,” Noviendi said. Bangkok is one of the top destinations in Asia, but political turmoil and massive protests have scared away foreigners.

According to Dow Jones Newwires, Thailand is likely to miss its target of drawing 15.5 million visitors this year.

Rising tensions between anti-government protesters and troops in Bangkok are sparking more cancellations, especially among East Asian tourists.

Foreign arrivals at Indonesia’s main tourist destination, Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, from January through March totaled 560,845, an increase of 13.74 percent over the same period last year.

The average stay in Bali was 3.69 days in March, down from 3.75 days, while foreign tourists stayed in Jakarta an average of 2.48 days, down from 3.09 days.

However, the average length of stay in the nation’s top tourism destinations in 17 provinces, was 2.88 days in March, a slight decline from an average of three days during the year-earlier period, which was at the height of the global crisis.

Tourism professionals say the global crisis caused tourists to favor shorter stays, resulting in lower spending. (May 3rd

2010, the Jakarta Globe)

Tusk Robbers Kill Endangered Elephant

A gang of men in an Indonesian jungle have poisoned an endangered elephant in order to remove its tusks for sale on the ivory market. The 15-year-old male elephant was butchered on an oil palm plantation in the Tamiang Hulu area of Aceh province. After killing the elephant, the men removed the tusks, cut up the carcass and threw the remains into a river. As forests have made way for palm oil plantations in the area, animals such as elephants and tigers have been forced into closer contact with people who are unaware of their importance. According to environmental group WWF, there are only about 3000 elephants left in the whole of Indonesia. (May 9th Indonesia News.Net)

2010,

Jakarta Meteorite was as Big as Coconut

The meteorite that fell from the sky at Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Thursday (April 25) is believed to have been the size of a coconut, an outer space expert said. Thomas Djamaluddin, a senior researcher at the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan), said here Monday the agency also had established the object was a sporadic meteorite. The object was actually part of a space rock that had fallen apart and not the remnant of a comet, he said. Thomas said the meteorite was also known to have a fragile structure and may have disintegrated on impact because the Lapan team had not found any object that was still intact at the spot where it reached the ground. The meteorite that fell in East Jakarta damaging three houses is the fi rst known to have hit a residential area in the country. In the past several meteorites had fallen in open spaces such as in Bone, South Sulawesi and Jimbaran, Bali. The Lapan team had now discontinued its examination of the crash site so that the owners of the damaged houses could clean up the debris from the impact. The house owners were asked to report to the authorities immediately if they fi nd any strange objects, another Lapan offi cial, Sri Kaloka, said. (May 3rd

2010, Antara News)

Garuda Plans to Cover Gap after JAL Cuts Bali Routes

National fl ag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia announced on Monday that it was ready to fi ll the void after ailing Japan Airlines canceled its routes to Bali this year. Kiyoshi Tanaka, a JAL representative in Bali, said on Monday that the bankrupt airline’s massive restructuring had prompted it to cut less-profi table routes. He said JAL’s daily Tokyo- Denpasar and Osaka-Denpasar would be eliminated by Oct. 1, leaving Garuda the only carrier fl ying between Japan and the resort island. Pujobroto, Garuda’s corporate secretary, said on Monday after JAL’s announcement that the Indonesian carrier would raise its Osaka-Denpasar fl ights from four times a week to fi ve starting in November. Garuda also provides once-daily Denpasar-Tokyo service and three Denpasar-Nagoya flights per week. JAL currently has two daily routes to Bali, Tokyo-Denpasar and JAL 715 Osaka-Denpasar. Heru Legowo, general manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Ngurah Rai, regretted JAL’s decision to stop the service, which it has fl own for 10 years. He said the cancellation made little sense because approximately 400 passengers arrived on each fl ight as well as cargo, not to mention the fees JAL paid to the airport management fi rm. “With the route closing, we will lose income of Rp. 150 million [$16,500] a day,” Heru said. Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, chairman of Bali’s Tourism Board, said the closure would also cause tourist numbers to drop. Japan accounts for the third-largest number of visitors after Australia and China. Ronn Nomura, sales and marketing offi cer of Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, said the impact had already begun to be felt. With the closure, we expect to lose 50 percent of our guests,” he said. (May 10th

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