August is always a special month in Indonesia with the traditional celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day (August 17th).

In keeping with the festive season, Nikko Bali Resort & Spa will host an entire month of Bali Culture Appreciation Nights showcasing some of the Island's finest dancers and musicians.

Each evening’s entertainments will present Balinese entertainment and authentic local cuisine.

After arriving at the Resort guests will be given a tropical welcome drink and provided a batik sarong, fans for the ladies and Balinese undeng headdress for the gentlemen. To also help preserve the memory of the evening, guests will be given a CD of traditional Balinese music and a printed program.

Held six nights every week throughout the month of August, the Nikko Bali Culture Appreciation Nights will take place between 7:00 and 9:30 pm at the Kupu-Kupu Amphitheatre. Local artisans will provide live demonstrations of their arts while the Resort's chefs will prepare such culinary specialties as Balinese suckling pig and Balinese-style roasted duck.

Priced at just Rp. 398,000 ++ (US$51.50) the Bali Culture Appreciation Nights will continue throughout the month of August 2008 with the following schedule:

● Monday Nights - Kecak Dance

● Tuesday Nights – Classical Balinese Dances presented by the students of the Indonesian Institute of Arts

● Wednesday Nights – the Barong Dance.

● Thursday Nights - Jegog Bamboo orchestra

● Friday Nights – Dances performed by the living Balinese dance legend Ni Ketut Arini

● Saturday Nights – a selection of dances and music by child performers who recently won honors at the Bali Arts Festival.

Indonesian AirAsia was recently scolded by the Director General of Civil Aviation, Tri S. Sunoko, who told the low cost airline to start assigning seat numbers on the airline's boarding passes. According to the Indonesian aviation official, the pre-assignment of seats is needed to help identify passengers in the event of an air accident.

The Marketing Director of Indonesia AirAsia, Widijasroro Nugroho, told Bisnis Indonesia, "we are ready to undertake seat assignment numbers, but are concerned that this move will create an added cost, while our concept is that of a low-cost airline."

While saying his Airline will follow the aviation rules of Indonesia, Nugroho pointed out that his airline was not alone in choosing not to assigned seat numbers on its aircraft. Among the airlines cited by Nugroho who do not assigned seating are Ryan Air, Easy Jet (Europe), Southwest Airlines and AirAsia affiliates in Malaysia and Thailand.

The Airline's marketing managers defended the "free-seating" approach, saying it allowed boarding to take place in just 25 minutes.

The airline also allows passengers to reserve their seat using the boarding express facility, provided at an additional charge.

As reported on balidiscovery.com [See: Political Showdown Looming at Padang Bai?] a political tug-of-war is underway between Bali's outgoing Governor Dewa Beratha and the Regent of Karangasem I Wayan Geredeg over the legality of a major tourism development near Padang Bai, on the Island's east coast.

The latest report from BisnisBali says that Karangasem's Bupati, Geredeg, is standing firm on his refusal to obey the order of the Governor and revoke a piece of legislation that paved the way for the construction of the massive Villa Chateau de Bali.

The regional law authored by Geredeg effectively exempted the resort investment from Provincial laws that made the development illegal due to its infringement on "green zones" and sacred "no build" zones surrounding local religious sites.

Geredeg's refusal to budge has prompted a strong reaction from the Chairman of the Forum Peduli Bali (FPB), I Nyoman Pasek. Pasek has labeled Geredeg’s actions in the case as criminal.

Pasek told BisnisBali that Geredeg’s effort to override a provincial regulation with a regional rule of his own making, could subject the Bupati to fines of up to Rp. 500 million (US$53.475) and 5 years in prison.

The Vice-Chairman of the Regional House of Representatives in Karangasem, I Gusti Bagus Karyawan, has sounded a similar warning saying Geredeg should accede to the Governor's order and withdraw the permits for the project already in an advanced stage of construction.

BisnisBali has labeled the government’s use and deployment of electronic e-kiosks - computerized tourism information centers distributed at high traffic areas across the Island – as ineffective.

Using local data bases and Internet technologies to link visitors with the latest information on Bali tourism, BisnisBali suggests the expensive computerized information terminals as being more attractive than they are useful.

Saying the cost of the units consumed Rp. 17 billion (US$ 1.8 million) of the tourism promotion budget but now stand little used in locations such as at the entrance to the Wangaya Hospital – a location well off the traditional beaten track of Bali tourist visitors.

In the words of a local visitor to the Hospital, Ketut Muliarta: "I don’t know. What is this thing? But if this equipment is full of information about tourism, as people say it is, maybe it's here for tourist who have (suddenly) become sick. It looks like an ATM machine."

In other locations, such as the Badung market, these e-kiosks have, in the word of the newspaper, become expensive items that are little used, accumulating dust and, in many cases, are poorly installed.

The Chairman of the Bali Guide Association (HPI), I Made Sukadana, said the selection of locations for the e-kiosks such as hospitals and markets was badly targeted for tourist visitors. "Machines designated to assist visitors needing tourism information should be placed in strategic locations, those most visited by tourists," said Sukadana.

Sukadana said the touch-screen e-kiosks intended to support Visit Indonesia Year 2008 is not being fully utilized by tourists and is "not impacting Bali tourism."

According to one major hotel contracted by balidiscovery.com little was done to effectively socialize the initial launch of the tourism e-kiosks to local tourism stakeholders. In the case of the subject 5-star hotel, a unit was dropped off at the hotel, immediately consigned to a storage area, and has yet to be installed in one of the hotel's public areas months after its delivery.

Four foreign airlines have declared their interest in commencing scheduled flight services to Indonesia: Shanghai Airlines (PRC), China Eastern (PRC), Aeroflot (Russia) and Mohan Air (Iran).

A Director General of Civil Aviation, Tri S. Sunoko, confirmed to Bisnis Indonesia that his office has received formal applications for traffic rights in Indonesia by the afore mentioned airlines.

The Iranian private carrier Mohan Air has been granted flight permits and is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Indonesia soon.

"We are processing permits for Shanghai Airline and China Eastern and are in the process of inspecting their aircraft," said Sunoko. He also confirmed that Russia's Aeroflot is seeking permission for cargo flights.

Sunoko credited the success of Indonesia’s tourism promotion programs and its current target of 7 million foreign visitors nation-wide in 2008 as helping to stimulate new interest in Indonesian as a flight destination.

To support national tourism the Government recently increased from three to four flights a day the number of scheduled services allowed Singapore Airlines on the Denpasar – Singapore route.

Sapta Nirwandar, the Director General of Marketing for the Department of Culture and Tourism said the government is focusing on increasing flight capacities, opening new air routes between America and Europe to Indonesia, and improving the quality of Indonesian destinations. Sapta also said that the government is also seeking to further ease the visa on arrival facility currently enjoyed by the citizens of 63 countries.

Tourist arrivals from the People's Republic of China totaled 63,000 for the period January – June 2008, an increase of +82.91% over the same period in 2007. Now ranked as the fifth largest source of foreign tourists to Bali, fears are emerging that the rapid growth in mainland Chinese visitors to Bali may pause during the coming Olympic games.

According to NusaBali, a number of regular charter flights to Bali have been curtailed or stopped while all Chinese airlines focus their attentions on serving Olympic visitors to Beijing which start on August 8, 2008.

In considering the expected coming drop in Chinese visitors to Bali, the Chairman of the local Chapter of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA), Al Purwa, has pegged the expected downturn in Chinese visitors as a direct result of an over-dependence on charter flights as opposed to regular flights used in serving the mainland Chinese market.

Aviation safety officials from 27 European Union nations have met and decided to extend the current blacklisting of Indonesian aviation first introduced by the EU in June 2007.

An effective prohibition against any aircraft from Indonesia's 51 air carriers entering into EU airspace, the extension of the current blacklisting virtually dooms Garuda Indonesia's plans for an early resumption of air service to Western Europe.

Who's to Blame?

A statement issued by the European Commission suggest that the continuing blacklisting may have less to do with unsafe Indonesian airlines and more to do with poor governmental supervision of the national aviation sector: "The Indonesian authorities have still not developed and implemented an efficient oversight program on any of the carriers under their regulatory control."

In response to Indonesian critics of the ban who have accused the EU of playing politics, the aviation committee has told the Indonesian that they are welcome to appeal the blacklisting to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The EU decided to continue the blacklisting after seeing presentations from the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authorities and three Indonesian airlines: Garuda Indonesia, Mandala and Air Fast. During the course of the one year blacklisting Garuda has satisfied International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) certification and Mandala Airlines anticipates certification in the near future.

While Indonesian airlines continue to make significant steps to improve safety and security, the EU remain less than fully impressed with the standard of governmental oversight and control.

Affirming this view was a statement made by Indonesia's Minister of Transportation, Jusman Stafii Djalil, who told NusaBali who said the EU sees the main weakness in Indonesian aviation is with the regulator (i.e. the civil aviation authorities)."Although we have fulfilled 61 of the 69 findings of the EU, the documents and proof submitted by Indonesia are considered inadequate to demonstrate safe aviation conditions," explained Jusman.

While acknowledging the steps taken by the three airlines making presentations before the EU officers, the official statement again pointed at government shortcomings saying "no detailed information has been given regarding the surveillance of all other Indonesian air carriers in both the areas of maintenance and flight operations."

Introduced in June 2007, the EU ban followed a series of fatal air mishaps across Indonesia.

The continuing EU ban represents a hardship for many secondary destinations within Indonesia, with some European visitors refusing to venture beyond Indonesia's international gateways where flights on domestic carriers are required,

In a separate, but related, report Indonesia's President Susilo Bambamg Yudhoyono has vowed not to visit any pf the countries within the European Union until such a time as he can do so on a non-blacklisted Indonesian aircraft.

Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla has issued a call for a reshuffle of the senior management of the state-owned carrier PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (MZ) in order to repair the working synergy of the company. At this time, the CEO position of MZ is held by a caretaker director, Cucuk Suryosuprojo.

According to Tempo Interaktif, the current director of MZ have been given two days to present a detailed plan to the Vice President providing a road map for the solution of the major problems of the Airlines, including renegotiation of its current debt. "In two days the directors of Merpati must report back to the Vice President," explained Jusman Syafii Djamal, the Minister of Transportation, following an emergency meeting at the Vice President's office last week.

Jusman said that the make up of MZ's board of directors was discussed privately between the Vice President and the Minister for State-owned enterprises, Sofyan Djalil.

Transportation Minister Syafii said he assumed that the individuals appointed to the role will come from a State-owned enterprise, most probably internally appointed form within MZ.

Jusman told Tempo Interaktif that Kalla insists that MZ continue to operate and develop its routes in eastern Indonesia. "The problem of their (MZ) staffing must also be resolved," he added.

Also attending the closed-door meeting at the Vice President's office were the directors and commissioners of Merpati and the Deputy Minister for Finance and the Macro Economy Sahala Lumban Gaol.

Cash is Critically Short

In a separate report in NusaBali the severity of MZ's current problems was underlined by a confirmation that the airline currently has insufficient cash to meet its payroll obligations. The lack of cash was revealed in statements by Indonesia's Minister of State-owned Enterprises, Sofyan Djalil.

Radar Bali tells of how a recent plagued of rampaging rats are threatening the rice crop in the Tabanan area of West Bali. In addition to a number of conventional rodent control measures being used to fight the vermin, some time-honored steps connected with the deep spirituality of the Balinese are also being put into play. In the case of Tabanan, these have included a Nangluk Merana Ceremony - a large parade of devout Balinese around the fields and streets of Tabanan with Raja Ida Cokorda X of the Puri Agung Tabanan Palace carried along on a ceremonial palanquin.

The ceremony in which the Raja was hoisted through local rice fields is the second ceremony of its kind in recent days held at different villages within the Tabanan Regency.

Widely believed to be an effective means to expel rats from rice fields, the processions included the participation of local religious persons, hundreds of villagers and local officials from the Department of Agriculture. The ceremony saw the Raja greeted at his palace by the local populace before being carried to the local village temple where prayers are offered and holy water sprinkled. Following a stop of the Pura Beji the Raja continued to be carried on his palanquin before arriving at the Pura Ulun Suwi for more prayers offered in unison with the Raja's "subjects." Holy water is taken from each temple or pura visited by the entourage and used to "bless" the agricultural fields along the route.

A local religious spokesman told the press he was certain the religious ceremony would finally rid the area of the highly destructive rats. Efforts to install traps and use rat poison have only seen the plague of rodent escalate with locals now employing the "more sure fire" and very Balinese spiritual approach of involving their King and their God.

Bali police authorities are cracking down on illegal parking violators as evidenced by a special operation carried out by the Provincial Department of Transportation on Monday, July 22, 2008.

According to Radar Bali, traffic authorities, comprised of transportation officers and traffic police, put locks on the tires of illegally parked cars along the entire length of Jalan Gatot Subroto up to and including the Tohpati intersection. In this initial testing of a new "get tough" policy, four vehicles had their wheels locked.

According to a traffic official, the drivers of the "locked" cars are given one hour to show up, after which they will be issued a ticket before the "wheel lock" is removed. Those vehicles sitting with the wheel lock in place for more than one hour with no owner showing up for ticketing will be towed away by the police.

During the first day's trial run only one car from among 4 car having their tires locked ended up being towed away to the police traffic pound.

A traffic authority spokesman told the press that the program will now be continued, providing a "shock therapy" to those who disregard parking rules. He also warned that the "tire locks" would be used on a whole range of busy streets in South Bali over the coming weeks.

After a successful launch last year, the Bali provincial tourist office will once again hold the International Bali 10 K race on August 10, 2008, in the Renon section of downtown Denpasar.

This year's race will also mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Bali's provincial government and the 63rd anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia to be celebrated one week later on August 17th.

More than 10,000 runners are expected to join the event.

Bali's Head of the Provincial Tourism Office, I Gede Nurjaya, has announced that this year's race will also be dedicated to Bali's retiring Governor, Dewa Made Beratha.

Race Route

The 10 K race which will get underway at pre-sunrise on Sunday, August 10th will begin and end on Jalan Basuki Rachmat in front of the Kantor Keuangan Negara in the area surrounding the Lapangan Puputan Margarana. Athletes will pass Jalan Basuki Rahmat, Jalan Raya Puputan, Jalan Dewi Sartika, Jalan Diponegoro, Jalan Hasanudin, Jalan Udayana, Jalan Surapati, Jalan Hayam Wuruk and then following Jalan Raya Puputan to the finish line.

International Bali 10k Race

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Registration

According to Nurjaya, those wishing to join the race can register and pay the Rp. 5,000 (US$0.54) fee at the Kantor Pariwisata Bali on Jalan S. Parman in Renon.

The actual race will be divided into four categories: an "elite international" grouping, an "elite national" grouping, a general grouping and a final category for student participants. Attractive merchandise and cash prizes have been prepared for each category of participation.

The foreign arrivals figures to Bali covering the first six months of 2008 are now in. Month-after-month of record breaking arrival totals support the increasingly popular view that 2008 will see 2 million plus foreign tourists pass through Bali's International airport – the first time Bali has penetrated the 2 million barrier.

June arrivals hit 170,994 - a +17.8% increase over June 2007 (145,174). On a year to date basis, arrivals during the first six months of 2008 were 924,949 – that's +23.9% ahead of the same period last year when 745,949 foreign tourists came to Bali. If Bali manages to maintain this same level of growth through the remainder of 2008, total arrivals will "just" break through the two million mark by the end of the year.

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Arrivals From 5 Major Markets to Bali

Bali top five producers of inbound tourists, in order of importance, remain Japan, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea and the People's Republic of China.

● Japan has regained its former glory and is producing numbers exceeding totals achieved in the year 2000. This is particularly gratifying given the fact that Bali arrivals are improving ex Japan in what as seen as a general decline in Japanese travelers globally.

● Australian arrivals to Bali are now exceeding the record levels posted in 2005, regaining all lost ground incurred with the demise of Air Paradise following the second terrorist attack of 2005. Barring any untoward developments, Australian totals will pull into impressive "record territory" for the rest of 2008.

● Taiwan and South Korea continue to post modest improvements. Look for a possible decline in Taiwanese visitors in the just announced liberalized flight rules between the PRC and Taiwan which may lure potential Bali visitors away, at least in the short term.

● The People's Republic of China has almost doubled the number of visitors over last years. These numbers will be watched carefully to see if Chinese numbers decrease during the coming Olympic period (August) with mainland tourists opting to spend their holiday closer-to-home in Beijing.

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The Importance of ASEAN

An abundance of low cost carriers operating on an intra-ASEAN basis have made the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) an important source of Bali visitors, filling any possible shortfall in U.S. and European visitors. Dominating ASEAN arrivals to Bali are the Malaysians who continuously demonstrate strong year-on-year growth. Singapore arrivals, while having grown dramatically over the past 9 years, have largely hit a plateau since 2003.

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The Americas and Key European Countries

● The Americas, including both North and South America, dropped off dramatically following 9-11 (2001) and the 2002 Bali bombing. Since then, numbers have slowly regained strength each year, now trailing only 10-15% behind the "best" year of 2000.

● The U.K. market, although improving +23.4% over 2007, still lags more than 35% behind its heydays in 2001 and 2002. Garuda's withdrawal from Europe and the lack of alternate carrier options remains the major stumbling block for the recovery of the U.K. and most European markets.

● German arrivals are up +24.1% for January-June 2008, but still shy by some 10% of the totals achieved in 2000 and 2001.

● French arrivals increased +35.4% for the first six month of 2008, logging in the strongest performance ever from that Country.

● The Netherlands are also coming in record numbers to Bali, achieving 25,695 visitors in the first six months of 2008.

● The Russian market continues to amaze. +64.8% more Russians visited Bali in January-June 2008, as compared to the same period last year. The 30,445 Russian tourists who came to Bali in the first six months of 2008 represent a 91% average annual rate of growth in visitors from that market since 2001.

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