INDONESIA. Intensive marketing measures to restore confidence in travelling to Bali, after the October 2002 bombing, are taking effect. Tourist arrivals in Bali increased in March from the previous month, despite a slight decline in numbers for Indonesia as a whole the Indonesia Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
During March, Bali arrivals rose +7.7% from February to 77,540, while tourist arrivals to the whole country slipped -0.5% to 288,417. The Burearu said tourist arrivals from Europe, the Middle East and the Americas were affected mainly by the Iraq war, whilst the decline in arrivals from Asia was caused by the outbreak of SARS.
Visits to Bali were still -34.8% lower than in the same month a year earlier, before the terrorist attacks.
