Bali: Back in business

Operators are planning a wave of offers to promote Singapore as a gateway to Bali and nearby islands following the lifting of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ban on non-essential travel to Indonesia.

In 2001, the UK was Bali’s fourth-largest inbound market with 116,323 visitors. That figure dropped 57% to 50,043 following the ban.

The best of the new offers will be from the autumn, once the peak season for Bali is over and hoteliers start discounting to attract the UK market during the winter months.

One of the best twin-centre deals on the market is from AsiaWorld, offering three nights in Singapore combined with seven in Bali from £779, a saving of £100.

Gold Medal has seven nights’ three-star accommodation, including breakfast, at the Parigata Resort and Spa from £675 per person twin-share including flights on Cathay Pacific from Heathrow. Valid until December 9, it must be booked by October 31.

Tropical Locations head of marketing Helene Rodriguez said: “We are expecting more and more offers to start coming through for the autumn and winter. Not just for Bali but also for Bintan which, although part of Indonesia, is just off the coast of Singapore.”

The operator has seven nights at the Pansea Bali, including breakfast, for £798 travelling on Singapore Airlines throughout September and October.

Bali is going from strength to strength for Kuoni with bookings up 37% following the lifting of the FCO ban. Seven nights at the three-star Griya Santrian in Sanur cost from £659 per person with flights on Garuda from Heathrow via Kuala Lumpur.

Product manager Adrian Croft said agents can expect plenty of promotions in the Limited Editions brochure due out at the end of this month.

Premier Holidays Faraway product manager David Carlaw said rates were already pretty good as hoteliers in Bali and nearby Lombok have not increased their prices since 2002, when business was devastated by the bomb attacks.

“Hoteliers have not gone mad discounting because they knew business was coming back. Instead they have been offering added value, such as free nights. We’ll definitely have some good offers later in the year.”

The Bali Hilton’s Back to Bali promotion (see news in brief, left) is commissionable to travel agents at 15% with a special bonus-night offer on all bookings made before September 30. The hotel is also offering agents a booking incentive – book up to 25 nights and get a complimentary three-night stay in a Grande Room.

Travel 2 Far East product manager Zoe Tasker said it responded immediately to the lifting of the FCO advice.

“We have special offers on all our featured properties as well as tactical packages with Qantas which were distributed to agents.”

Tasker said Bali’s traditional popularity remains. “The destination has the potential to recover very quickly indeed – providing the air access is there.

“The beach resorts of Thailand and Malaysia have benefited from consumer uncertainty about Bali since the bombing, but Bali is perceived as offering something different – a little more exotic with a great deal of charm. It’s traditionally been particularly popular with honeymooners and I would expect it to reclaim that status quickly.”

Tropical Locations head of product and partner David Kevan said on a recent visit to Bali the island was “looking superb. I thought it might be a bit depressed, but the opposite was true. There were many new hotels and restaurants and many of the older hotels have spent money on upgrades”.

BALI

Last month the Foreign and Commonwealth Office revised its travel advice for Indonesia and is no longer advising against non-essential travel to the destination. Do you know enough about the situation to advise clients who might want to visit? Travel Weekly, in conjunction with Tropical Locations, helps you separate fact from fiction.

The myth: Bali is not under threat from terrorist activity. The reality: Bali is still under threat, as is everywhere else in the world, including London. We state in our booking conditions that is it generally assumed British citizens and others are at risk of terrorism attack, be it in the UK or when travelling overseas. Most of our clients feel safer in Bali than travelling on the Tube in London. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago and it does have areas of economic and cultural tension, but this has been ongoing for years, and in areas that have never shown any interest in tourism.

The myth: it is impossible to get travel insurance to visit Bali. The reality: there are now several companies providing travel insurance to Bali, however they will exclude cover against terrorism attack. But again, this is worldwide and not restricted to Bali.

The myth: as UK clients have not been able to travel to Bali, local hotels must have really suffered. The reality: of course the hotels have missed the UK traveller, however most have moved on and found alternative markets, mainly from within the Asia region. Many hotels have advanced promotional offers to woo back UK visitors in the shoulder months of September and October, however most already had good business on their books for July and August with regular travellers from Asia and Australia.

The myth: all countries had the same FCO “only travel if essential” advice. The reality: certainly not. The only countries with such advice were the UK, US and Australia, and most Australian travellers seemed to ignore it anyway. Most countries in Europe, including Italy, France and Germany, had a “travel but be cautious” note – fairly standard for travel to Asia.

Advice was further confused within the travel trade as we tour operators and travel agents have a legal responsibility to make our clients aware of the FCO advice, while airlines are not obliged to say anything. 

The myth: clients are fully aware of the UK FCO travel advice policy. The reality: no, far from it. In fact, most don’t know of its existence. You will find most tour operators make reference to the advice in their brochures, with a website address for further details. At Tropical Locations this is taken to the extreme with several references throughout the brochure, on the confirmation account and again with the travel documents.