Bali's 2007 Q3 Arrivals Up +34.98% over 2006

Total foreign arrivals to Bali for September 2007 totaled 152,532, an improvement of +28.9% over the same month in 2006 (118,331). The "second best September" on record, this year's arrivals were only -6.2% behind the tally for September 2005 when 162,102 arrivals were recorded.

Year to Date
September closed the 3rd quarter with an astounding cumulative total for the year-to-date of 1,229,779 foreign arrivals, making - a full +34.98% better than arrivals through the end of September 2006 (910,996).

Projected Arrivals for Entire 2007
With only three months left in the year, strong booking trends reported by many operators and, in the absence of any untoward events, Bali is likely to end the year with 1.70 million foreign visitors. Should these numbers materialize, Bali will not only have achieved a new record in foreign arrivals for a single year, but also managed to improve its fortune some +71% from the annum horribilis that was 2003 - when only 993,029 foreigners visited Bali in the year immediately following the October 2002 terrorist attack.

A Tale of Two Bombings
As shown on the graphs presented on Balidiscovery.com, the recovery in tourist numbers following the 2005 terrorist bombing took place at a more constant rate and at a higher level than was the case following the 2002 bombing.

Click Image to Enlarge




Bali Arrivals By Market Segments
A glimpse at September arrivals from some of Bali's major source markets yields the following results:

• Japan remained Bali's largest market, producing 36,507 arrivals in September 2007. While representing a +28.46% improvement over September 2006, Japanese arrivals still lag -8.3% behind September 2000 and -21.96% behind the stellar performance of September 2002.
• Australia - arrivals from Oz continue to improve with 21,170 arrivals from down under coming to Bali in September 2007. However, compared to the 32,388 Australians who visited Bali in September 2005, current arrivals would need to improve by some 50% to fully regain past glory.
• Taiwan - At 11,937 Taiwanese arrivals in September 2007, Bali's third largest inbound market is still 20-30% off the strong pace set in 2000 and 2002
• South Korea - With 8.776 visitors from South Korea in September 2007, this market is operating in record territory.
• Malaysia - despite current growing political tensions between Indonesia and Malaysia, a record 7,521 Malaysians came to Bali in September 2007, numbers fueled by low-cost-carriers flying between Kuala Lumpur and Bali.
• The Americas - representing both North and South America, arrivals from that market hit 6,743 in September. Although showing improvement over the performance of the past few years, these figures are still nearly -30% behind the 8,912 visitors recorded from the Americas in September 2000.
• The Netherlands - Holland is firmly back into record territory recording 4,720 visitors to Bali in September 2007.
• United Kingdom - While showing positive improvement over the past few years, the 6,864 U.K. arrivals in September 2007 still suffers from a lack of available airline seats. Compared to arrivals of 12,031 in 2000, U.K. numbers are far behind former levels.
• Germany - A picture of full recovery is demonstrated by the German market which produced 8,386 visitors in September 2007.
• France - presents a similar story of "full recovery" with a record high of 4,891 arrivals in September 2007.

Source: Balidiscovery.com

Art Summit gets off to delicious start

The 2007 Art Summit Indonesia kicked off Thursday night at Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta with French chocolates floating through the air in gift boxes on the end of green balloons.

These were no ordinary chocolates and balloons, but a culinary installation called Le Buffete Flottan (Floating Buffet) that combined gastronomy and art.

The piece by La Cellule troupe's Emmanuelle Becquemine and Stephanie Sagot greeted visitors to the Graha Bhakti Budaya building in the art center complex in Cikini.

"The idea is a reflection about a buffet. We just want to create something different," said Becquemine.

When people take the chocolate gift box, the balloon will fly away, said the 31-year-old artist.

The same installation has been seen in Japan and France. After the Jakarta show, the troupe plans to showcase the piece in Yogyakarta.

The installation was an alluring opening act, tempting Jakartans craving art and culture.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik officially opened the Art Summit.

"With culture we can develop brotherhood and partnership between countries," he said.

Wacik said the promotion of art and culture was the responsibility of the entire government.

He said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Trade Minister Mari E. Pangestu were both very active in this area.

"We're now looking at a culture and art industry," he said.

Wacik said events like the Art Summit would show the rest of the world that Indonesia is an important cultural center.

Trade Minister Mari E. Pangestu also attended the opening ceremony, saying it was time for the country to "create a market for its culture and arts".

The last Art Summit in 2004 featured 15 performing artists from 10 countries and 25 visual artists from six countries.

The event is held every three years. Fifteen groups from nine countries participated in the first ASI in 1995. In 1998 there were 15 groups from eight countries, and three years later the event drew 17 groups from 10 countries.

A modern wayang listrik (electric puppet) performance by one of Bali's most accomplished puppet masters, I Made Sidia, concluded the opening ceremony.

Sidia is scheduled to perform Friday at Graha Bhakti Budaya in the Taman Ismail Marzuki complex.
Source: Thejakartapost.com

Bali artist offers modern wayang performance

A fusion between a traditional wayang (shadow puppet) performance and modern technology has impressed Jakartans during a two-dayshow at Graha Bhakti Budaya hall in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta.

The performance, called Wayang Listrik (electric puppet), amused the audience with its funny and critical dialogue presented by one of Bali's most accomplished puppet masters, I Made Sidia.

Sidia presented a provocative show and proved to his audience that a traditional performance, which might be unappealing to most youngsters, can indeed be entertaining.

The 40-year-old puppeteer kept the audience laughing with his brilliant and innovative jokes in both English and Kawi, an ancient Javanese language.

In his Thursday performance at the hall, Sidia mocked Malaysia over the country's recent dispute with Indonesia through use of the traditional Indonesian song Rasa Sayange, which Malaysia had used in its tourism campaign.

In Sidia's Tualen's Journey story, Tualen, the main character, meets a wild tiger on his travels that he tries to tame by singing the Indonesian national anthem, Indonesia Raya.

However, the tiger in the story becomes angry upon hearing Tualen sing the anthem, after which Tualen asks, "You must be a Malaysian tiger then, huh?".

Sidia said he used jokes like this to deliver criticism about social and political issues in today's world through an art performance.
(Source: Thejakartapost.com)

Tourism in Indonesia

Jimbaran Beach, Bali.

Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy and an important source of foreign exchange revenues. With a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the second longest shoreline in the world, 300 different ethnic groups and 250 distinct languages, and tropical climate throughout the year, nature and culture are two major components of Indonesian tourism.

Tourism in Indonesia is currently overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. International tourist campaigns have been focusing largely on tropical destination with white sand beaches and blue sky imageries. Beach resorts and hotels were developed in some Indonesia islands, with Bali island as the primary destination. Cultural tourism is also an important part of Indonesia tourism industry. Toraja, Prambanan and Borobudur temples, Yogyakarta and Minangkabau are popular destinations for cultural tourism, apart from many Hindu festivities in Bali. About 5 million foreign tourists have visited Indonesia annually since 2000.

However, tourism development had sometimes clashed with local people, that has created criticism over Indonesia's tourism industry. Most of the disputes were related over land possession, local traditions (adat) and the impact of tourism development to the local people. In another area, tourism industry in Indonesia faces major threats. Since 2002, several warnings have been issued by some countries over terrorist threats and ethnic/religious conflicts in some areas, which significantly reduces the number of foreign visitors.

Komodo National Park

Komodo National Park, is in Indonesia.

Understand

Komodo National Park lies in the Wallacea Region of Indonesia, identified by WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area, and is located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. Komodo National Park includes three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands creating a total surface area (marine and land) of more than 1,8oo km2. As well as being home to the Komodo Dragon, also known as the Komodo Monitor, or Ora (to Indonesians), the park provides refuge for many other notable terrestrial species. Moreover, the Park includes one of

History

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986, both indications of the Park's biological importance. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo Dragon and its habitat, first discovered world in 1910. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial. The majority of the people in and around the Park are fishermen originally from Bima on the island of Sumbawa, and from Manggarai, South Flores, and South Sulawesi. Those from South Sulawesi were originally nomadic and moved from location to location in the region of Sulawesi to make their livelihoods. Descendents of the original people of Komodo, still live in Komodo, but there are no pure blood people left and their culture and language is slowly being integrated with the recent migrants. Little is known of the early history of the Komodo islanders. They were subjects of the Sultanate of Bima, although the island’s remoteness from Bima meant its affairs were probably little troubled by the Sultanate other than by occasional demand for tribute.

Flora and Fauna

The number of terrestrial animal species found in the Park is not high, but the area is important from a conservation perspective as some species are endemic. Many of the mammals are Asiatic in origin. Several of the reptiles and birds are Australian in origin. These include the orange-footed scrubfowl, the lesser sulpher-crested cockatoo and the nosy friarbird. The most famous of Komodo National Park's animals is the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis). It is among the world's largest reptiles and can reach 3 meters or more in length and weigh over 70kg. Other animals include the Timor deer, the main prey of the Komodo dragon, horses, water buffalo, wild boar, long-tailed macaques, palm civets, the endemic Rinca rat, and fruit bats. Also beware of the snakes inhabiting the island, including the cobra and Russel’s pit viper, both of which are extremely dangerous. As far as the marine fauna is concerend, Komodo National Park includes one of the world's richest marine environments. It consists of over 260 species of reef building coral, 70 different species of sponges, crustaceans, cartilaginous (incl. manta ray and sharks) and over a 1,000 different species of bony fishes (over 1,000 species), as well as marine reptiles (incl. sea turtles), and marine mammals (dolphins, whales, and dugongs).

Climate

Tropical all year round, and both extremely hot and dry (> 40 degrees Celsius) during August and September.

Get Around

On land: On foot, only, as there are neither roads nor motor transport. On sea: By chartered boat, only, as there are no regular connections.

See

The unique Komodo Dragon, of course, the most noteworthy reason for travelling to Komodo National Park.

Do

Depending on the time you have available, one or more guided tours on the islands of Rinca and Komodo itself. Please note that it is neither permitted nor advisable to do any tours without local guides, as the Komodo Dragons are dangerous when they attack.

Visitor Arrivals to Indonesia 2000-2006

YEAR	INTERNATIONAL VISITORS	AVERAGE EXPENDITURE/ PERSON (US $)		AVG. STAY IN DAY(S)	FOREIGN EXCHANGE INCOME
		PER VISIT	PER DAY
2000	5.064.217	1.135,18	92,59	12,26	5.748,80
2001	5.153.620	1.053,36	100,42	10,49	5.428,62
2002	5.033.400	893,26	91,29	9,79	4.496.13
2003	4.467.021	903,74	93,27	9,69	4.037,02
2004	5.321.165	901,66	95,17	9,47	4.797,88
2005	5.002.101	904,00	99,86	9,05	4.521,89
2006	4.871.351	913,09	100,48	9,09	4.447,98

Source: Statistical Report on Visitor Arrivals to Indonesia

Tourism Concepts and Definitions

VISITORS
The definition used for visitor corresponds to the International Union of Office Travel Organization (IUOTO) and World Tourism Organization (WTO) recommendations which covers any person who travels to a country other than that in which she/he has his/her usual residence but outside his/her usual environment for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited. In this definition includes cruise passengers who arrive in a country on a cruise ship and return to the ship each night to sleep on board even though the ship remains in the port for several days.

HOTEL
Hotel is an establishment using a building or a part of building especially provided/ reserved, that any person can stay, obtain food, service and use other facilities against payment. Restaurant that managed by hotel is the special characteristic of hotel. Hotel classificatuion is determined by the Regional Tourism Agency.

Room Occupancy Rate is the number of room nights occupied, divided by the number of room nights available, multiplied by 100 %.

Average Length of Stay (ALS) is the number of bed night used (guest nights), divided by the number of guest coming to stay at the accommodation. This average length of stay is distinguished between foreign and domestic guest.

Accommodation is an establishment using a building or a part of building especially provided/reserved, that any person can stay, obtain food and service and use other facilities against payment.

Classified Hotel is an establishment using a building or a part of building especially provided/ reserved, that any person can stay, obtain food, service and use other facilities against payment, that has fulfilled the requirements as classified hotel which are determined by the Department of Culture and Tourism.

Those requirements are :
a. Physical requirements, such as location and condition of hotel.
b. Service provided.
c. Manpower qualifications, such as education and employee's welfare.
d. Sport facilities and other available recreations, such as tennis courts,
swimming pools and discotheques.
e. The number of room avaiable.

Non Classified Hotel is an establisment using a building or a part of building especially provided/reserved, that any persons can stay, obtain foods and services, and use other facilities against payment. Non Classified hotels included melati hotel, youth hostel, home stay, and other accommodation establishments.

Jasmine Hotel is a kind of accommodation which managed commercially by using a building or a part of building where any person can stay against payment.

Youth Hostel is a kind of accommodation provided for teenager who doing tourism activities for recreation, spread acknowledgement/experience of trip.

Home Stay is a kind of accommodation using a part of building/house provided/reserved, where any person can stay against payment.

Other accommodation is a kind of accommodation, other than melati hotel, youth hostel, and home stay like wisma.

Methodologies

SOURCE OF DATA

Visitor

E/D Card from Directorate General of Immigration.
Passenger Exit Survey, Research and Development Center, Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Hotel and Accommodation

Primary data based on survey held by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) using VHT-S quetionnaire on monthly basis and VHT-L quetionnaire on yearly basis.

COVERAGE

Visitor
Data on foreign visitors cover all foreign visitors directly arrived in Indonesia through the airports, seaports and land. There are altogether 73 ports of entry into Indonesia covering the whole area of a country, of which 47 are seaports, 19 are airports and 3 are through land. The four main ports are namely Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta), Ngurah Rai (Bali), Polonia (Medan) and Sekupang (Batam).

Hotel and Accommodation
The data collected on the room occupancy rates covering all the existing classified hotels throughout Indonesia, based on hotel classification results, conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. All non classified hotel throughout Indonesia, which are observed on selected sample.

Room Occupancy Rate is the number of room-nights occupaied, divided by the number of room nights available, multiplied by 100%.

Bed-Occupancy Rate is the number of bed-nights used divided by the number bed-night available, multiplied by 100%.

Average Lenghth of Stay (ALS) is the number of bed-night used (guest-nights), divided by the number of guests coming to stay at the accomodation. This average length of stay is distinguished between the foreign and Indonesian guests.

ALS of foreign guest is the number of bed-nights used by foreign guests, divided by the total number of foreign guest visiting the hotels.

ALS of Indonesian guest is the number of bed night used by Indonesian guest, divided by the total number of domestic guest visiting the hotels.

Foreign and Indonesian Guest Ratio is the ratio between the percentage of foreign guests from the total number of guests and the percentage of Indnesian guests from the total number of guests.

Guest per Room (GPR) is the ratio of guest-nights or bed-nights to room nights occupied. In other words the GPR shows the average number of guests occupying one room sold.
Example:
GPR = 1.43 means that the average sold room is occupied by 1.43 persons.
Notes :
1 room-night = 1 room x 1 night
1 bed-night = 1 bed x 1 night
1 guest-night = 1 guest x 1 night

Source: Statistics Indonesia