BALI IS BACK IN BUSINESS

Bali. The Indonesian idyll has long been a byword for luxury holidays. Sadly, the island has been attracting attention for the wrong reasons. Two terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005 devastated business tourism and seriously dented Bali’s image as a peaceful destination.
But business is now on the rise. Visitor numbers this year are encouraging, while travel advisories from some target markets have driven hoteliers to tap new countries. However, not only have Australian groups returned, but so too have Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and
domestic Indonesian groups.

PROPERTY UPGRADES
The Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton – with its luscious lavender-coloured Thalasso Spa –
and the behemoths at Nusa Dua are bustling again. Hotel owners and operators are upgrading and expanding their properties in preparation to welcome new clients who will follow this year’s big conventions.
This month, the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) will host PATA Travel Mart 2007 while the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December will welcome 2,000 delegates.
What Bali now needs is more flight connections to get the delegates here.
A slew of upmarket properties are coming online to cater for an expected jump in tourist
numbers due in the next couple of years. The Bale, a lifestyle retreat in south Nusa Dua,
has added nine deluxe single pavilions.
Within the Nusa Dua area, Grand Hyatt Bali is extending its lead in the meetings and
incentives segment. Already one of the few hotels in Bali with extensive meeting facilities,
it is building a second ballroom with capacity for 1,400 seats theatre style, to open in October.
Grand Hyatt Bali director of marketing, Ronald Nomura, says: “We will be ready to host some of the events in conjunction with PATA Travel Mart. MICE accounts for 20 per cent of business at the resort.”
New hotels on the horizon include a Banyan Tree in Uluwatu, a St. Regis just south of Nusa Dua and the boutique Alila Villas Uluwatu.
Pacific World Bali managing director Ida Bagus Lolec, says: “These developments will help us in selling the destination and show that, despite all the problems we have been through, Bali is not sleeping.”