Indonesia & Bali Tourism New

Anand Khrisna , Jakarta

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has chosen Bali as the pilot project for environmentally friendly tourism. Geoffrey Lipman, the UNWTO assistant secretary general, praised Bali for its local wisdom, and spoke of the need to apply it to meet actual challenges such as climate change.

However, it was not the nomination per se, which made happy most of the stakeholders I met. It was Lipman’s promise that his agency would also try to help Bali secure financial support from international donors such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, “to implement the green tourism concept as part of a green economy”, which made them happy. (more…)

Tanjung Benoa is a famous Bali spot for water sports lovers. Tourists, both foreign and domestic, can enjoy a wide variety of water games. And for the more daring, there’s always parasailing.

[Tiffany and Hosea, Australian Tourists]:
“Oh, very great, when I went up the boat stopped and we came down into the water, so we had to go again.” (more…)

During Christmas and New Year holidays, Transjakarta busway is diverting more busses to serve tourism sites such as Ancol dreamland in North Jakarta and Ragunan zoo in South Jakarta.

Transjakarta supervisory manager Iqbal Gaffar told tempointeraktif.com that the company would add 10 more busses to the Harmoni-Ancol route, which currently operates with 58 buses daily. Meanwhile, the number of Transjakarta buses to Ragunan would be increased to 25 from 19 buses daily now. (more…)

THERE are two kinds of culinary travelers who end up on Bali: ones who don’t flinch at spending hundreds of dollars for a bottle of Rioja at a trendy Asian-French fusion restaurant, and those who are obsessive about going as local as possible, searching out the most authentic Balinese meal, a box of Imodium A-D always at their side.

You’ll find the latter at Bali’s many streetside food vendors known as warungs. Scattered throughout Indonesia, warungs usually occupy a modest shack or roadside lean-to with a small counter and a bench where customers sit and eat traditional dishes. (more…)

The Indonesian government will provide tax refund for foreign visitors to purchase goods from April next year, an official said here Tuesday, reports China’s Xinhua news agency.

The visitors can have the refund when leaving from Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta and Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, said Djoko Slamet Surjoputro, director of Public Relations with the tax office. (more…)

Annisa S. Febrina , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta

She was once a muse.

Her Belgian painter husband Le Mayeur captured her in his drawings, encapsulating the famous Balinese dancer Ni Pollok as a peek into the beauty of the paradise island. Decades passed and she remained an icon, a representation.

A different artist has taken the subject matter to another level, raising the issue of Balinese identity that will perhaps forever tickle the mind of Balinese painters. What is Bali, beyond its beauty as a tourism destination? (more…)

Bali, Indonesia an old favourite destination for Aussie travellers has topped a top ten most luxurious destinations list for Aussie travellers to “up-star” in 2010, says Expedia.

Due to great deals still lingering after the global financial crisis and a very strong Aussie dollar, Expedia Australia says that it reckons next year will see many Australians upgrading their holiday accommodation and has offered a list of destinations which offers luxury on the cheap. (more…)

The Bali regional government has set a quota of 60,000 cows for sale in its inter-insular trade to Jakarta in 2010, a regional animal husbandry official said.

“The quota is increased by 5,000 head compared with that in the previous year`s 55,000 cows,” Head of Bali`s Animal Husbandry Service, Ida Bagus Alit said here on Tuesday. (more…)

By Mohd Nasir Yusoff

BATAM (Indonesia), Dec 15 (Bernama) — Batam island expects to attract at least 500,000 tourists from Malaysia during Visit Batam Year 2010.

Its director of the tourism and culture department, Guntur Sakti, said the target was achievable because in recent years Malaysian tourists were the third highest to visit Batam, about 45 minutes by ferry from Johor Baharu. (more…)

Wasti Atmodjo , The Jakarta Post , Ubud

Local and international scholars said Thursday they planned to set up a “global village” in Bali to provide a forum for intercultural and interreligious studies.

Initiated by Marcia Jeffee from the United States, Balinese art aficionado Anak Agung Rai, I Gede Ardika and other noted individuals, the global village will be established in Pengosekan village near Ubud. (more…)