Contingency Plan For 2018 Outlined To Handle Mount Agung's Eruption

Semarang (Antaranews Bali) - Bali's economy, especially its tourism sector, has suffered a setback following an increase in Mount Agung's volcanic activity since mid-September.

Amid a slump in tourism, it is reasonable that the government has undertaken several efforts to normalize the situation, including promoting the "Bali is Safe" campaign.

In order to send across the message directly, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and some of his ministers paid a visit to Kuta Beach on Dec 22, spent an afternoon walking barefooted on the beach, and had selfies clicked on the requests of the local people and tourists.

In the evening, President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla held a cabinet meeting at one of the hotels in Sanur to discuss the tourism sector in Bali.

"Why are we holding this meeting in Bali? (This is because) we want to show the tourists and (send across the message) to the world that Bali is safe," the president stated.

Moreover, taking into account the fact that Mount Agung's eruption will only affect some tourism areas located within an eight- to 10-kilometer radius of the erupting volcano, President Jokowi has declared that tourist destinations outside this zone should be safe for vacationers despite an alert status being declared for the mountain.

However, the president noted that inaccurate information on Mount Agung's developments had led to the issuance of a travel ban by several countries, thereby leading to a decline in tourism activities on the island.

Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism are expected to provide complete information to the ambassadors of friendly countries to invite foreign tourists to visit Bali.

Indonesian embassies outside the country should also help to disseminate the message on the safety and security conditions to those visiting Bali, including contingency measures prepared in the face of a disaster.

The cabinet meeting also decided to remove the emergency response status imposed for Mount Agung to prevent multiple interpretations that had resulted in the issuance of a travel ban.

Not until a week from the visit of the president and vice president to Bali, Head of the Tourism Office of Badung Regency I Made Badra declared that the Chinese government had revoked the travel ban applied earlier.

"We are grateful that China has revoked the ban following an assurance made by our government that Bali is safe. We also provide guarantee in case tourists get stranded due to Mount Agung's eruption by establishing a cooperation agreement," Badra pointed out.

Following the revocation, he expressed belief that the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali will reach 16 thousand per day in January 2018, and the occupancy rate can reach 75 percent of the total 130 thousand star-rated hotels rooms in Badung.

Mount Agung's eruption has caused a drop in the number of Chinese tourist arrivals, which is the largest in Bali, reaching up to 200 thousand per month.

Despite the various attempts to revive tourism, the message of "Bali is Safe" is a step to fight destiny. Who can provide assurance or certainty for the ongoing volcanic activities that have compelled more than 71 thousand people to flee their homes?

Hence, an urgent step also highlighted by the president was to prepare a contingency plan to face the worst-possible scenario in case of an eruption.

Presumably, the measure adopted by Tourism Minister Arief Yahya to prepare Rp100 billion to attract 40 percent of the foreign tourists is indeed a critical 2018 contingency plan.

The budget, effectively enacted since Dec 21 for the next three months, is allocated, for instance, to provide a 50 percent discount in hotels and restaurants.

Responding to the tourists' concern regarding Mount Agung's status and the airport's closure, the government has prepared a plan to transport tourists to the nearest international airports in Lombok, Banyuwangi, or Surabaya.

Minister Yahya has issued a Mitigation Plan decision covering the "Hot Deals" program that received full support from the tourism players in Bali.

"Our current focus is the post-eruption evaluation of Mount Agung, and at the same time, preparations for reviving the tourism sector and for contingency measures," he noted.

No one can forecast the upcoming developments in Mount Agung in the Land of Gods except God. Hopes are resting high on the contingency plan to foster a sense of security and comfort to the community and tourists. (WDY)