Niken Prathivi and Luh De Suriyani , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR | Fri, 07/03/2009 2:59 PM | Bali
Tourism has not been affected in the Indonesian resort paradise of Bali, officials say, despite the recent spate of people testing positive for the H1N1 variant of the influenza A virus.
“Between June 1 and 25, Bali welcomed 6,500 visitors a day,” Bali Tourism Agency head Ida Bagus Subhiksu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, citing rising visitor numbers compared to the less than 6,000 guests a day during the low season.
“So far, there hasn’t been a decline in tourist numbers. However, any decrease caused by the flu outbreak may only be seen three months from now.”
From June to August each year, Bali enjoys a peak tourist season, thanks to school and summer holidays for Western vacationers.
Subhiksu added the hotel occupancy rate in the Nusa Dua, Kuta and Sanur areas had reached at least 90 percent.
“However, we’ve asked hotels to provide masks and have their clinics coordinate with the nearest puskesmas *community health centers* to prevent any spread of the flu.”
He urged business owners and local residents to stay calm and not panic over the new virus.
“For those not in the best of health, we suggest postponing any planned trip to Bali to sometime in the future,” he added.
Sanglah General Hospital in the provincial capital Denpasar reported Monday it was treating four new patients believed to be infected with the flu virus. The four had arrived recently from Europe, the United States and Australia.
Previously, two Australian teens who tested positive for H1N1 were released after having recovered.
I Ketut Karyasa Adnyana, head of the Bali legislature’s Commission IV, which oversees health affairs, called on the tourism agency to speed up its education campaign targeted at foreign visitors staying in tourism spots and villas.
“Tourists staying in illegal villas have become the biggest challenge for all parties in raising awareness about the virus,” he said.
“Given that Bali is a popular international holiday destination, the island will sooner or later be contaminated if no serious preventive efforts are taken.”
Karyasa added the much-touted thermal scanners, installed a the airport to single out passengers with high fevers, had failed to detect any suspected patients.
“All the cases in Bali were revealed after the patients had been here a few days,” he said.
He lauded hotels that had cooperated in dealing with clients who had fallen ill, and tourists with influenza-like illnesses (ILI) who underwent voluntary check-ups.
Source: The Jakarta Post
