Most tourists are from Asia in second half of 2009

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia will show a new demographic trend in the second half of this year with most visitors coming from Asian countries, the Culture and Tourism Ministry says.

The new trend is largely caused by two convergent factors, the economic hardships faced by European countries and the US alongside the positive growth of emerging economies in Asia.

"The foreign tourist arrivals will come mainly from Asian countries, *including people* who decided to make holiday trips to Asian nations," minister Jero Wacik said as quoted by the Antara state news agency on Sunday.

Wacik said the number of foreign tourists coming from EU countries and the US was forecast to drop slightly due to the impact of the economic crisis affecting these countries.

In the meantime, he said, Asian tourists preferred to spend their holidays within the region given better affordability and the variety of tourism destinations offered.

"Asian tourists chose to visit nearer countries," the minister said.

The impact of the new trend would result in the total number of foreign tourists arrivals in the country in the second semester growing by three percent compared to the same period last year.

The increase in Asian tourists arrivals would not directly translate into growth in the tourism industry as the average stay of Asian tourists, excluding Japan, is generally lower than that of European tourists.

Sail Bunaken largest maritime event in Asia

Sail Bunaken 2009 which will involve 24 warships and 150 sail boats as well as cruise ships from 26 countries will be the largest maritime event ever organized in Asia.

"This will be the largest maritime event ever held in Indonesia and Asia," Aji Sularso of the Sail Bunaken 2009 Organizing Committee said here recently.

The Sail Bunaken to be held in Manado, North Sulawesi, on August 12-20, 2009, would be part of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) activities as the theme would be "Protect Our Oceans for the Future Generation".

He said the event was expected to help promote Manado to be a world tourist destination.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Moeklas Sidiq, deputy chief of staff of the Indonesian Navy, said the planned participation of 24 warships from various countries reflected good relations among the world`s navies and would constitute the largest fleet review ever held by Indonesia, as one of the world?s largest maritime country.

The Sail Bunaken 2009 implementation will cost around Rp5.75 billion.

The event`s programs will include the Indonesian Fleet Review, a Yacht Rally, Festival Bunaken Expo, Bunaken Carnival, Jetski Trans Equator Touring, Bunaken Diving Competition, and International Fishing Competition.

Bali warns against drinking local spirit after deaths

Tourists to the Indonesian island of Bali were warned against drinking the local spirit arak, after at least 25 people died in the past week when a batch was cut with methanol.

Bali's police said 25 people, including a British national, an Irish woman, a Dutch man and a American woman, died of alcohol poisoning after drinking arak containing methanol -- a toxic chemical compound often used as an anti-freeze or in paint.

Another 21 local residents have been treated at Bali's main hospital of Sanglah, police said.

Police have arrested the owner and an employee of a small rice wine factory in Denpasar, the capital of Bali, after finding evidence of arak that contained traces of methanol. They are investigating if this was accidental or deliberate.

This contaminated batch of arak was distributed to shops and roadside stalls in four different districts of Bali, police said.

Gde Sugianyar, Bali police spokesman advised Balinese and tourists to avoid unlabelled drinks as a precaution.

"We have been watching and conducting raids across Bali especially arak sellers who sell their liquor from jerry cans. We asked Balinese to stop buying unlabelled arak until we find what exactly caused the deaths," Sugianyar told Reuters.

Arak, a colourless, sugarless drink, is distilled from palm sap or rice and commonly used in religious ceremonies in Bali.

Bali won't enforce porn law

INDONESIA'S mainly Hindu island of Bali has no intention of enforcing a controversial anti-porn law passed last year because it conflicts with local culture and tradition, the provincial governor said in an email interview.

Pluralism and religious freedom have become election issues in predominantly Muslim, officially secular Indonesia.

Centuries-old traditions including outdoor bathing would also have to be banned if the law was properly enforced, added the governor, a former police chief who led investigations into deadly bomb attacks by Islamic militants on Bali.

Jakarta to host int`l kite festival in July

At least 200 kites of various types, shapes, colors, and sizes will participate in the Jakarta International Kite Festival (JIKF) 2009 at Ancol Dream Land, north Jakarta, in July 2009.

"Various kinds of traditional and modern kites will decorate the sky above Ancol Dream Land beach," Rus Suharto, head of the attraction and event section of the Jakarta tourism and cultural office, said here on Sunday.

The would-be participating kites would come from Indonesia`s provinces and abroad, he said.

Countries which have confirmed their participation in the kite festival, included Malaysia, Japan, Australia, South Korea and several European states, he said.
"Foreign participants usually present creative kites, while Indonesians usually bring traditional kites," he said.

He assured that audience would enjoy seeing beautiful kites which were believed to be unique, too.

The international kite festival would also include an exhibition, a photo session, and a kite making demonstration, he said.

In 2006, countries like Malaysia, China, Japan, and Netherlands took part in the festival.

The festival was organized in cooperation with the domestic kite community and the Jakarta Kite Museum, in an effort to attract more tourists to visit the capital city, he said.

He said a total of 1.53 million foreigners visited Jakarta in 2008, up 26.21 percent from the target of 1.3 million.

Last year, the capital city received 15.74 million domestic tourists, from the target of 15 million.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2009 rose around 0.46 percent compared with the same period last year.