Government Spends Rupiah 3.5 Billion to Revive Bali Tourism

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has spent Rp 3.5 billion on the production of video clips on Bali's attractions as part of its efforts to revive Indonesia's ailing tourism, particularly in Bali which was recently hit by terrorist bombs.

Setyanto P. Santosa, a ministry spokesman, said as quoted by Antara on Tuesday that the 30-second video clips would be broadcasted by international media, including television networks CNN, CNBN and BBC. The titles of the ads include My Indonesia, Bali for the World and Bali Get Into It. They will appear in local and international media during the whole month of December.

"We hope the campaign will encourage both domestic and foreign tourists to visit Bali as well as other tourist destinations in Indonesia after the bombing tragedy in Bali," Setyanto said, adding that the campaign aims to build people's awareness about the importance of peace and the war on terrorism.

The clips for domestic consumption were produced by noted Indonesian film director Garin Nugroho, while Fortune will produce the international versions.

Following the Bali tragedy, the government has set up steps to restore the country's tourism. The steps include "rescue" (from October until December 2002), "rehabilitation" (from January to June 2003) and "normalization" (from July to November 2003).