Bali Governor ‘Jealous’ of Malaysia’s Tourism

The Jakarta Globe

Foreign tourists walking along Bali's Kuta beach as the sun sets. (AFP Photo)

Denpasar. Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika admitted he was “jealous” of Malaysia because the neighboring country was able to attract up to 22 million foreign tourists in 2008.

Bali, perhaps the world’s most famous tourist destination, has just set a target of attracting two million foreign tourists in 2009, Pastika said at a workshop themed “Terrorism Prevention in the Bali Tourism Environment” here on Saturday.

Often referred to as the Island of Gods, Pastika said Bali has many places of interest in addition to its unique society and culture, including pristine beaches, volcanic mountains, lakes and even rivers that provide beautiful panoramas.

But despite these assets, Bali was not able to draw the same number of foreign tourists as Malaysia, he said.

According to Pastika, Malaysia’s success in attracting foreign tourists in large numbers was due mainly to its human resources, guaranteed security and good infrastructure.

The governor, a former Bali police chief who led the investigation in the 2002 bombing, promised to prioritize development in three important areas, namely human resources, education and people’s health.

He said the security issue must also be tackled so that Bali could become a safe and comfortable attraction for international tourists, adding that infrastructure construction would be accelerated to help the island to attract more than ten million foreign tourists in the years to come.

Antara