NELBali Property News

(3/22/2013) 

Tourism in Indonesia was likened to a “sound system without a operator” by the chairman of the Ambarrukmo Tourism Academy (Stipram), Suhendroyono, during commencement exercises held in Yogyakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

Quoted by Kompas.com, Suhendroyono said that tourism in Indonesia has a huge potential to provide a benefit to the people.

The failure of tourism to improve the welfare of the people, according to Suhendroyono, is because the industry leaders do not understand the tourism marketplace; have failed to analyze tourism’s potential; and, in the end, failed to coordinate efforts between different sectors.

“Indonesia tourism has great potential, but because there is little understanding on how to develop that potential, we continue to fail. By thoroughly understanding tourism- the government, investors, business people and the public can then analyze the true potential of tourism and package tourism products to their best potential.” Suhendroyono explained.

To enhance the public’s understanding of tourism, Suhendroyono suggests that tourism studies should form part of the academic curriculum starting from grade school.

If the science of tourism is taught from the earliest levels, he argues, people will understand how tourism works and all parties will be able to work together to explore the industries potential and make Indonesian internationally competitive with other destinations.

“What’s more,” he said, “the science of tourism always present positive aspects of society such as culture, tradition, peace, morality and environmentalism. Because of this, its not only a raised understanding of tourism that will result through education, but also character building.”

Source: BaliDiscovery.com

(3/22/2013)

Philippine low-cost airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) commenced service between Manila on Bali on Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Flights between the two cities will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays leaving Manila at 4:00 am and landing in Bali at 7:50 am to return by leaving Bali at 8:35 am on the same days to land in Manila at 12:25 pm.

Cebu Airline currently flies between Manila and Jakarta 4 times a week.

The airline operates to 20 international destinations including Osaka, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul.

CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 25 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 43 aircraft is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. 

Between 2013 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 17 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com

(3/17/2013)

The rapid loss of agricultural lands in Bali to tourist accommodation, residential housing and commercial uses is threatening government goals to make the Island self-sufficient in rice.

As reported by The Bali Post, data on the amount of productive agricultural land remaining in Bali at the end of 2011 was 39,033 hectares. One year earlier the amount of agricultural land was put at 47,934 hectares representing a decline of 17.7%, in a single year.

The head of Bali’s Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Gde Suarsa, warns that if this trend if not urgently addressed it will mean agricultural production in Bali will experience a significant decline, threatening Bali’s food security.

Accordingly, rice production in Bali for the period January-April 2012 declined 9.9% - a reduction of 31.374 tons when compared to the same period in 2011.

Warned Suarsa: “This has to be addressed seriously so production will not decline further. Even though we are maximizing production from Bali land under cultivation, the owners of agricultural land must stop selling their lands.”

A Bali-based economist, Professor Dr. Gede Sri Darma, also warns that self-sufficiency in rice will be difficult to achieve if the government and the public do not work together to preserve agricultural land and maximize the use of existing agricultural lands through technology.

Professor Nyoman Suparta of Bali’s Udayana University added that Bali can still achieve agricultural self-sufficiency if farmers and other parties share a commitment to work hard to achieve that goal.

Suparta said that the necessary measures to preserve productive agricultural lands were already contemplated in the 2009 Zoning Regulation (RTRWP). Unfortunately, he added, the implementation of those policies continues to be hotly debated between provincial and regional authorities.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com

(3/17/2013)

The Jakarta Globe reports that the chief warden at Bali’s Kerobokan Prison has publicly cast doubts of any possibility that Schapelle Corby, the 36-year-old Australian marijuana smuggler, will walk out of his prison on parole, despite guarantees being made on her behalf by the Australian government.

Corby is currently scheduled to end her 20-year sentence, less remissions and time served, on September 27, 2017, after then spending nearly 12 years behind bars.

In recent weeks, the Australian government has made special written entreaties to the Indonesian Ministry of Justice seeking that Corby be allowed to spend the remainder of her sentence in Bali, living in a private residence under regular monitoring and control by law enforcement officials.

Gusti Ngurah Wiratna, the chief warden at Bali’s Kerobokan prison, has warned that the Australian woman’s uncooperative demeanor, a refusal to admit and take responsibility for her crimes, and failure to adopt the role of a “justice collaborator” by providing full details behind her criminal activity – all weigh against any granting of parole.

Said Wiratna: 

“She should have admitted where the drugs came from on an official statement and then the statement would be sent to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). Corby can choose not to be one (a justice collaborator) she has the immunity, but the consequence is that she can't be released on parole.”

Wiratna also told the press that in addition to letters sent by the Australian government and Corby’s family in support of her parole application, further clarifications on where she would live in Bali are needed together with a frank and full admission of wrongdoing by the prisoner.

Iskandar Nawing, the Indonesian lawyer representing Corby, said he would discuss the possibility of becoming a “justice collaborator” with his client.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com

(3/3/2013)

A solar-energy generation project worth Rp. 26 billion (US$2.6 million) was inaugurated in Kubu, Karangasem, Bali on Monday, February 25, 2013

The Solar Energy Generation Project (PLTS)  able to produce substantial power for Bali’s power grid was officiated over by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik, Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika, the director general of New Energy Sources and Power Conservation (EBTKE), the director general of electrification, the CEO of the State Power Board (PT PLN) and the regent of Karangasem.

The Karangasem Solar Energy project is the first of its kind in Bali. Rated at 1 Mega-watt, the center is expected to produce 2.88 million-kilowatts over a project lifetime of 20 years. The PLTS in Karangasem is also calculated to reduce the carbon footprint of producing such a quantity of power by 2.566 tons of CO2.

Quoted by Beritabali.com, Jero Wacik said at the inauguration ceremony: “This represents the first PLTS and, for the moment, the largest in Indonesia. Next year we will build another PLTS with even more electrical capacity.”

Wacik added that the solar energy generation center in Karangasem covers a land area of 1.7 hectares and is expected to become a model program for the use of solar energy as a source of electrical power in Indonesia in the future. Adding, “There is no limit to the amount of solar energy available for our use.”

Source: BaliDiscovery.com