After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery

Special After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery
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Bali's economy is on the mend but it's still drawing only a third of the travelers who used to arrive before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Special After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery
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Bali's economy is on the mend but it's still drawing only a third of the travelers who used to arrive before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Special After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery
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Bali's economy is on the mend but it's still drawing only a third of the travelers who used to arrive before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
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Updated 17 November 2022

After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery

After G20 summit success, Bali eyes post-pandemic tourism recovery
  • Events culminating in summit of world leaders expected to pour $480 million into Indonesian economy
  • Local hospitality industry hopes the international attention garnered by the forum will hasten their revival

DENPASAR, Indonesia: The G20 Summit may impart new momentum to the recovery of tourism in Bali now that the island has returned to the international limelight by hosting the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries.

With tourism accounting for almost 60 percent of the Balinese economy, the resort island has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic brought the global travel industry to a halt. Like other countries, Indonesia had cut off international flights and imposed restrictions for almost two years, and only ended quarantine requirements for foreign visitors in March — a move that is now enabling Bali to attract more international travelers.

As leaders from the world’s biggest economies met and thousands of other participants took part in G20 meetings, local hospitality industry officials expressed hope that the international attention garnered by Bali would hasten the island’s recovery.




Indonesia's President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Widodo welcome British PM Rishi Sunak (R) at the G20 Summit in Bali on Nov. 15, 2022. (Willy Kurniawan / Pool / AFP)

“G20 is an extraordinary momentum to speed up Bali’s tourism recovery and revive Bali’s economy,” I.G.N Rai Suryawijaya, who heads the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s chapter in Bali’s Badung regency, told Arab News.

Indonesia’s hosting of the G20 Summit, bringing leaders from the world’s biggest economies as well as thousands of other participants, is expected to contribute about 7.5 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($480 million) to the national economy, according to the central government.

Though the main event took place this week, hundreds of side events held earlier this year have also contributed to the local economy’s gradual recovery, Suryawijaya said.




Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for the G20 welcoming dinner during the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia on Nov. 15, 2022. (Willy Kurniawan / Pool / AFP)

At least 24 hotels in the ITDC area in Nusa Dua were fully booked, according to Suryawijaya, while occupancy levels in other accommodation across Bali were also high.

The G20 proceedings are also helping to boost local businesses and promote local products, including Bali’s traditional woven endek fabric. Several world leaders, including Canada’s Justin Trudeau and the UK’s Rishi Sunak, wore shirts made of endek during a gala dinner at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park on Tuesday.




Local artisan making Balinese traditional hand-woven fabric called “Endek”. (Shutterstock)

“G20 will have a multiplier effect even after the events are finished,” Suryawijaya said. “This will be a free promotion for Bali and Indonesia’s tourism, and we are very optimistic that Bali will gain the title as the primary destination for world travelers.”

The number of foreign tourists, which has been increasing, reached 1.2 million during the first nine months of the year, according to official data. But that is still far from the record 6.2 million foreign visitors welcomed in 2019.

“G20 events, especially Indonesia’s G20 presidency, will have a huge effect on Bali,” Tjok Bagus Pemayun, the head of Bali’s tourism agency, told Arab News.

“With these international events attended by world leaders, it will promote Bali’s image as an international destination. The presence of delegates in Bali will undoubtedly impact its economy.”

To lure more travelers, Bali is planning on developing health tourism, hosting more international events and launching new promotional activities.

“We are optimistic. All this while Bali was seen for its cultural aspects, but now we can convince people to travel to Bali to seek health treatments or wellness through spa (services),” Pemayun said, adding that the island’s health tourism offerings will cover both medical and wellness aspects.

Bali’s tourism sector is also planning to attract more travelers from Saudi Arabia following the high-profile visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.




Indonesia's President Joko Widodo welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 leaders' summit in Nusa Dua on Nov. 15, 2022. (Bandar Al-Jaloud photo via AFP)

“I am sure the crown prince’s visit will have a positive impact,” Pemayun said, adding that the provincial government is planning on collaborating with Indonesian missions in Arab countries to help promote the island destination.

“There are plenty of choices. Whatever Saudi tourists want, we have them here in Bali.”

 


Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline

Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline
Updated 7 sec ago

Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline

Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline
  • Spokesperson: Ongoing investigation into blasts that struck the pipelines last September must be conducted with full transparency
MOSCOWThe Kremlin on Friday said it was important to identify an object discovered next to one of the Nord Stream pipelines, and said the ongoing investigation into blasts that struck the pipelines last September must be conducted with full transparency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters it was a positive sign that Denmark had invited the Russian-controlled operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to help salvage an unidentified object found close to the Baltic Sea pipelines.
“It’s certainly positive news when the owner of the pipeline is invited to take part in very important phases of the investigation,” Peskov said.
Last week, Danish authorities said a tubular object, protruding around 40 cm (16 inches) from the seabed and 10 cm in diameter, had been found during an inspection of the last remaining intact Nord Stream pipeline by its operator, Nord Stream 2 AG.
“It is critically important to determine what kind of object it is, whether it is related to this terrorist act — apparently it is — and to continue this investigation. And this investigation must be transparent,” Peskov added.
Three of the four pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas links were hit in a still-unexplained explosion last September.
Russia has, without evidence, blamed Britain and the United States for the blasts, while European investigators have not said who they believe was responsible.

Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia

Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia
Updated 35 min 13 sec ago

Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia

Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia
  • Group of men, women and children was arrested in Thanbyuzayat township in southern Myanmar
  • Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the United Nation’s top court following the mass exodus

YANGON: Myanmar authorities have arrested around 150 Rohingya suspected of trying to flee to Malaysia, an official said on Friday.
The group of men, women and children was arrested in Thanbyuzayat township in southern Myanmar, the official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The official did not specify why the group had been arrested, but the Muslim minority faces restrictions on traveling within Myanmar, where rights groups say they live in apartheid-like conditions.
“They were hiding nearby in hilly forest between two villages... We started arresting them since late last night after we got a tip-off,” the security source said.
According to initial reports, the group had traveled by boat from western Rakhine state and planned to travel on to Thailand and then Malaysia by road, the official said.
A number of non-Rohingya suspected of trafficking the group were also arrested, and police were looking for around 30 more people, according to the source.
A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh with harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.
Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the United Nation’s top court following the mass exodus.
Widely viewed in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship — along with access to health care and education — and require permission to travel.
The arrests come days after the junta said it would begin welcoming back members of the minority living in Bangladesh as soon as next month in a pilot repatriation program.
The plan would see Myanmar “repatriate about 1,500 displaced persons,” state media on Friday quoted a senior border affairs official as saying.
The border official did not give a specific timetable and added Myanmar had “not received any response yet” to the plan.
The returning Rohingya would be placed in a “transit camp for a short period” before being resettled in 15 villages, the official said.
“For their safety and security, we have police stations near the 15 villages,” it added.
Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia.
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has dismissed the Rohingya identity as “imaginary,” was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.


457 arrested, 441 police injured in France unrest: minister

457 arrested, 441 police injured in France unrest: minister
Updated 24 March 2023

457 arrested, 441 police injured in France unrest: minister

457 arrested, 441 police injured in France unrest: minister
  • There had been 903 fires lit in the streets of Paris during by far the most violent day of protests since they began in January

PARIS: A total of 457 people were arrested and 441 security forces injured on Thursday during nationwide protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pensions reform, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

Speaking to the CNews channel on Friday morning, Darmanin also said that there had been 903 fires lit in the streets of Paris during by far the most violent day of protests since they began in January.

“There were a lot of demonstrations and some of them turned violent, notably in Paris,” Darmanin added, saying the toll was “difficult” while praising the police for protecting the more than million people who marched around France.

Police had warned that anarchist groups were expected to infiltrate the Paris march and young men wearing hoods and facemasks were seen smashing windows and setting fire to uncollected rubbish in the latter stages of the demonstration.

Darmanin, a rightwing hard-liner in Macron’s centrist government, dismissed calls from protesters to withdraw the pensions reform which cleared parliament last week in controversial circumstances.

“I don’t think we should withdraw this law because of violence,” he said. “If so, that means there’s no state. We should accept a democratic, social debate, but not a violent debate.”

Elsewhere on Thursday, the entrance to Bordeaux city hall was set on fire during clashes in the southwestern wine-exporting hub.

“I have difficulty in understanding and accepting this sort of vandalism,” the mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, told RTL radio on Friday.

“Why would you make a target of our communal building, of all people of Bordeaux? I can only condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

British King Charles III is set to visit the southwestern city next Tuesday, and had been expected to visit the city hall and meet with Hurmic.


China threatens consequences over US warship’s actions

China threatens consequences over US warship’s actions
Updated 24 March 2023

China threatens consequences over US warship’s actions

China threatens consequences over US warship’s actions
  • USS Milius guided-missile destroyer sails near the Paracel Islands on Thursday, and again on Friday
  • The Paracel Islands are occupied by China but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam

BANGKOK: China threatened “serious consequences” Friday after the US Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security.
The warning comes amid growing tensions between China and the United States in the region, as Washington pushes back at Beijing’s growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway it claims virtually in its entirety.
On Thursday, after the US sailed the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer near the Paracel Islands, China said its navy and air force had forced the American vessel away, a claim the US military denied.
The US on Friday sailed the ship again in the vicinity of the islands, which are occupied by China but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam, as part of what it called a “freedom of navigation operation” challenging requirements from all three nations requiring either advance notification or permission before a military vessel sails by.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” said US 7th Fleet spokesman Lieutenant junior grade Luka Bakic in an emailed statement.
“The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant,” Bakic added.
China’s Ministry of National Defense responded by accusing the US of “undermining the peace and stability of the South China Sea” with its actions.
“The act of the US military seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, severely breached international laws, and is more ironclad evidence of the US pursuing navigation hegemony and militarizing the South China Sea,” ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said. “We solemnly request that the US. immediately stop such actions of provocation, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unexpected incidents caused by this.”
He said China would take “all necessary measures” to ensure its security but did not elaborate.
Like its statement on the Thursday incident, China again said it drove the American ship away from the islands, which are in the South China Sea a few hundred kilometers (miles) off the coast of Vietnam and the Chinese province of Hainan.
Both sides said their actions were justified under international law.
Bakic told The Associated Press that the ship “was not driven away” and “continued on to conduct routine maritime security operations in international waters” after concluding its mission near the Paracel Islands.
“The operation reflects our commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea for all nations,” he said. “The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as Milius did today.”
The US has no South China Sea claims itself, but has deployed Naval and Air Force assets for decades to patrol the strategic waterway, through which around $5 trillion in global trade transits each year and which holds highly valuable fish stocks and undersea mineral resources.
A United Nations-backed arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 that the historical claim from China on the waters had no legal basis under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, and Washington maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight of the waterway are in the American national interest.
US forces currently operate in the South China Sea daily, and have been present for more than a century. China regularly responds angrily, accusing the US of meddling in Asian affairs and impinging upon its sovereignty.
China’s claims have frequently brought it into conflict with other nations in the region as well, and Filipino diplomats were expected to unleash a slew of protests on Friday over China’s recent targeting of a Philippine coast guard ship with a powerful military laser and other aggressive behavior.


India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction
Updated 24 March 2023

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction
  • Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi
  • Two senior Congress leaders said that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament

NEW DELHI: Members of India’s main opposition Congress party will take to the streets on Friday to protest against leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for defamation, party officials said a day after a magistrate’s court sentenced Gandhi to a two-year jail term.
Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the comment while campaigning ahead of the last general election to debunk economic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat, which also gave him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
That gives Gandhi time to appeal but he faces immediate disqualification from parliament following the conviction.
Two senior Congress leaders said that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament. “It is a fact that his membership stands disqualified for now but we will challenge the conviction in the court to ensure he can attend parliament proceedings,” said a federal lawmaker who is also a Congress leader.
The current parliament session began on January 31 and is scheduled to conclude on April 6.
Officials in the Congress party said they are also depending on regional opposition parties to galvanize political support against the verdict.
“It is a critical political test for Gandhi and we are depending on regional parties to support the Congress and stand against Modi’s party,” said a second senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. The president’s office confirmed that Congress leaders have sought a meeting with President Draupadi Murmu to lodge a protest against the conviction with the top constitutional executive.