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Australian tourists to return to Bali: Official
Sydney, May 29: Despite the bombings which killed many foreign tourists in Bali last year, Australians will again visit this Indonesian island resort, an official has said.
Sydney, May 29: Despite the bombings which killed many foreign tourists in Bali last year, Australians will again visit this Indonesian island resort, an official has said.
Tourists from Australia will pack the world-renowned Bali resort in the next three years despite the Australian government's travel warning against visiting Indonesia, general director of the Australian Tourism Commission, Ken Boundy, said here on Tuesday.
About 800,000 Australians visited Bali every year, especially before the blasts there, Boundy told journalists participating in the Indonesia-Australia special training project organised by the Australian Agency for International
Development (AusAID).
At least 202 people -- mostly Australian tourists -- were killed and 300 others injured when bombs ripped through two packed nightclubs at the Kuta resort area on Oct 12 last year.
Though the Bali tragedy has influenced the Australian people's desire to visit the area, they have realised that terrorists could strike anywhere, said Boundy, who has been to the island four times.
He said that 75 per cent of about 100,000 Indonesians visit Australia annually to study.
Around five million foreign tourists visit Australia every year. The figure, he said, dropped by 3-5 per cent this year due to the Bali tragedy, the US-led war on Iraq, and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
At least 202 people -- mostly Australian tourists -- were killed and 300 others injured when bombs ripped through two packed nightclubs at the Kuta resort area on Oct 12 last year.
Though the Bali tragedy has influenced the Australian people's desire to visit the area, they have realised that terrorists could strike anywhere, said Boundy, who has been to the island four times.
He said that 75 per cent of about 100,000 Indonesians visit Australia annually to study.
Around five million foreign tourists visit Australia every year. The figure, he said, dropped by 3-5 per cent this year due to the Bali tragedy, the US-led war on Iraq, and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Bureau Report