‘Cheap attack’: Perth-based NGO criticizes Australian official’s call to stop going to Bali

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, a popular tourist spot in Bali. Photo: Pixabay
Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, a popular tourist spot in Bali. Photo: Pixabay

The President of Perth-based Indonesia Institute Inc., an NGO active in promoting Indonesia-Australia relations in both countries, has panned a recent statement from an Australian official urging Western Australians to stop going to Bali.

“We understand that the inbound tourism industry in Western Australia has been badly hurt due to the coronavirus, but this should not be a reason for a government minister to make a cheap attack on Bali, at a time when their own tourism industry has also been badly impacted,” Ross Taylor, Indonesia Institute president, told Coconuts Bali. 

Taylor warned that the call to skip Bali as a holiday destination for West Australians could damage relations between the neighboring countries. 

“Australians have built a unique and deep relationship with Balinese people for over 50 years. For a minister to urge Aussies to turn their backs on our Bali friends during these difficult times is extremely hurtful.”

Businesses in Western Australia have reportedly been devastated by a travel ban imposed on Chinese visitors due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The situation appears to have prompted the comment from Western Australia’s Tourism Minister Paul Papalia, who said that citizens should instead stay and explore the state rather than going to Bali as part of an effort to help local businesses.

“Right now, the easiest thing we can do, the biggest thing we can do, is to get Western Australians to stop going to Bali,” said Western Australia’s Tourism Minister, Paul Papalia, in an interview with The West Australian

Taylor says the minister’s comments are “extremely disappointing” and said that they can be counterproductive to the bigger objective of building trust and closer relations between Indonesians and Australians. 

“Mr. Papalia has now reinforced the view held by some people in Asia that Australians are only good friends with our neighbors when it suits them,” he said. 

Whether or not Papalia’s statement will deter Western Australian tourists from visiting the Island of the Gods is something to be observed in the coming weeks and months, though Bali is indeed swarmed with a declining number of tourists in recent days, arguably an impact of the global health emergency caused by COVID-19. 

While this is usually a low-season period for the island, Ngurah Rai International Airport said that compared with last year’s number, there was a 16.25 percent drop in total tourist arrivals in the first two weeks of February, with an official citing fears over COVID-19 as part of the reason for declining tourist numbers.

Indonesia finally confirmed its first two cases of domestic COVID-19 infections on Monday, after weeks of claiming it was free of infections as countries across the globe scramble with increasing cases of the novel coronavirus. The first people to be diagnosed with COVID-19 in Indonesia — a 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter — are making inroads towards recovery, officials say.



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