Bali Buffeted by High Winds

Bali's Shorelines Eroded and Kuta Beach Temporarily Closed by High Winds and Waves Expected to Continue through February 19th.

"Nicholas" - a tropical storm located south of the Nusa Tenggara islands and off the Western coast of Australia, produced strong winds, heavy rains and large waves for Bali and adjoining islands during the second week of February 2008.

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Pastika's Political Platform for Bali's Future

PDI-P Candidate for Bali's Governor General Made Pastika Outlines His Vision for Bali's Future. As reported on Balidiscovery.com, former Bali police Chief, General Made Mangku Pastika is the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate for governor of Bali. A recent article in the Bali Post provides insights into the hopes and ambitions held by the man who may become Bali's next chief executive.

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Bali's January 2008 Arrivals Burst Out of the Starting Gate

The National News Agency Antara reports that 154,000 foreign tourists visited Bali in January 2008. While these figures remain preliminary until confirmed by yet-to-be-received official figures from Bali's immigration office, the 154,000 tally suggests a record-breaking start to 2008, exceeding arrival totals for January 2007 (109,504) by a whopping +40.63%.

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Kuta Apartment Complex Raises Local Zoning Issues

Bali Post has drawn attention to the construction of a new apartment complex on Jalan Majapahit in Kuta.

Quoting a member of the Badung House of Representatives (DPRD) from nearby Legian, IGN Sudiarsa, the Bali Post questioned the building of the large apartment complex in an area zoned for residential purposes. In the legislator's opinion, the operation of a commercial apartment complex including shopping and dining facilities is not in conformance with local codes limiting residential dwellings in the subject area.

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Race for Bali's Governorship Heats Up

As reported by Balidiscovery.com, the race for Bali's Governorships is taking shape with the formal candidacy by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of Police General I Made Mangku Pastika and Anak Agung Puspayoga as their candidates for Bali's next Governor and Vice-Governor.

That race further intensified in the first week of February when Gde Wiratha, the outspoken head of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN), announced his candidacy for the Golkar Party. Wiratha, who owns a number of tourism enterprises in Bali, is the brother of Kadek Wiranatha - the founder of the now-defunct Air Paradise. Gde Wiratha is an ardent advocate for legalized casinos in Bali.

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Does Ireland Point the Way for Bali?

The 2002 introduction of a 33 cent per bag tax on plastic bags in Ireland may point the way for reducing the plastic bags that litter Bali's streets, clog its sewers, pollute its waters and have become permanent fixture at the Island's landfills. Launched simultaneously with a massive advertising awareness campaign, the tax on plastic bags managed to transform Irish society. Just weeks after the tax's introduction, plastic bag use in Ireland declined by 94%, while re-useable cloth bags have become more indispensable than, say, an umbrella or a hat. People seen carrying plastic bags in Ireland receive the kind of unenthusiastic public reception once reserved for rich ladies in fur coats, pets that soiled walkways or a cigar smoker in crowded restaurants.

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Dear Tourists: Please Sneak a Peek at our Peak!

Hotel operators in the Bangli region of Bali, which include the tourist destination of the crater-lake area of Kintamani, met on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, with the executives of Bali's Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA) to seek help in restoring Kintamani's reputation as a favorite tourism destination. The Chairman of Bangli's chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), I Ketut Putranata, called on ASITA to lend support to hotels and restaurants operating at Kintamani.

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Garuda to Order 10 Boeing 777-200ERs

Bisnis Indonesia reports that Garuda Indonesia has followed up its recent move into profitability by announcing plans to purchase 10 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft worth an estimated US$2 billion to support route expansion plans to Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. The Operational Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Ari Sapari, told the press that the a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of the 10 wide-body aircraft will be signed at the Singapore Air Show February 18-22, 2008.
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Become a Friend of the Festival

The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival is offering enthusiastic supporters the chance to be on the ground level of Asia's most dynamic annual gathering focused on intellectual dialogue between readers and writes from around the world. Started in 2004 and held on an annual basis, the Festival brings to Bali world-renowned writers, journalists, literary agents, artists and publishers from across the region in a dynamic meeting of minds. Promoting Bali as a cultural and artistic center, the Festival also aims to foster a love of literature among young Indonesians.

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Bali`s rescuers search for missing Japanese tourist

Rescuers aboard a ship and a helicopter continued to search for a Japanese tourist who was missing in Nusa Penida waters, Klungkung district, Bali Island. "Hiro Hiko Kubo, 66 years old, from Japan was reportedly missing while diving," Barokna, chief of the search and rescue team, said at Badung Strait, on Saturday. The Japanese disappeared on Friday (Feb. 8) at around 3 pm local time, and the accident was reported to the rescue team at 7.30 pm, he said. The search was focused on areas around the diving location at 8.39 degrees southern latitude and 115.27 degrees eastern longitude. Last July, the search and rescue team managed to rescue four German tourists whose boat had sunken after being hit by huge waves in Nusa Penida waters.

Source: http://www.my-indonesia.info

Made Pastika Named PDI-P's Man to Run for Bali Governor

The Bali Post confirms that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have formally put forth the names of Police General I Made Mangku Pastika and Aank Agung Puspayoga as their candidates for Bali's next Governor and Vice-Governor. Their candidacy was reportedly confirmed at a meeting at the Jakarta headquarters of the PDI-P on Saturday, January 26, 2008.

Pastika is the former Chief of the Bali Police, credited with capturing the three 2002 Bali bombers and currently serves as the Operational Chief of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN). Puspayoga is the Vice-Mayor of Bali's capital city of Denpasar.

The nomination of the two by acclamation by the inner circle of the PDI-P is subject to final ratification by the Chairperson of PDI-P, Indonesia's former President Megawati Soekarnoputra.
Source: http://www.balidiscovery.com

Is Bali Tourism Unfriendly to Local Culture?

The Chairman of Bali's Chapter of the Indonesian Tourism Think Tank (MPI), I Wayan Budarmaja, recently told the Bali Post that the Island is becoming increasingly unfriendly to the Island's endemic culture. Budarmaja complained, "there is a tendency as though the design of tourism is only concerned with serving the desire of tourist visitors, with no orientation to the needs of the people of Bali and their culture."

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Bali named "best exotic destination" by Luxury Travel

The Indonesian resort island of Bali has again won "The Best Exotic Destination" award, this time from the London-based Luxury Travel Magazine, a tourism official said. "The readers of Luxury Travel Magazine in 27 countries have chosen Bali as the best resort island," the head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office I Gde Nurjaya said on Thursday. The award was presented to Bali through the Indonesian Embassy in London, he said.

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FHT Bali 2008 Food, Hotel and Tourism in Bali

Food & beverage suppliers of raw materials and equipment will gather in Bali February 28 – March 1, 2008 at the FHT Bali 2008 – Food, Hotel & Tourism Bali. Organizers are promising a 40 % increase in participants at this year, making the Bali gathering one of the largest trade gatherings of its type in Indonesia.

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Renowned American Culinary Expert Brings His Skills to Bali

InterContinental Bali Resort has appointed John P. Rees Jr. as its Director of Food and Beverage. Rees brings 25 years of culinary expertise to the Bali Resort and his assignment to revitalize all areas of the food and beverage operation. An American national, Rees is a hands-on manager who strongly believes in the art of communication and teaching his teams an ultimate respect for food. It is not unusual to find him behind the counter demonstrating how to roll pizza dough or flitting between tables, interacting with guests while trying to accommodate all taste preferences.

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Bali to Focus on 10 Key Markets in 2008

Bisnis Indonesia reports that Bali is eyeing 10 major source markets as the key to achieving a self-proclaimed target of 2.5 million foreign visitors in 2008, a very ambitious 49% improvement over the record-breaking total of 1.67 million visitors who came to Bali in 2007.

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'No' to Request for Higher Passenger Service Charges

The Government has apparently given the "thumbs down" to a proposal from PT Angkasa Pura I and II (AP) to increase by 50% the passenger service charge paid by domestic and international passengers at most Indonesian airports. As reported on Balidiscovery.com AP is claiming the large increase in departure fees is needed to upgrade service and security at the Nation's airports.

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