Bali tourism: Its the airport stupid

Reading an article posted on Bali Discovery today, brought back memories of travelling from Europe to Bali.

My attempted return to Bali in June, was hampered by the refusal of Garuda, to change the date of my ticket (Kuta travel agent told it me, it would be ‘no problem’) and their ‘almost refusal’ to accept my replacement e-ticket at check-in. The whole saga meant an extra 2 weeks in London, waiting for one of those precious, over-booked flights to Bali…and I wanted to go!

For those in Europe who haven’t heard of Bali, or simply aren’t interested, there isn’t much to tempt them, as far as advertising promotions. My own problems, were related to the fact that Garuda Indonesia, no longer services London. They sell tickets, but the fullfilment is done by Malaysia Airlines (never buy a ticket on an airline, that is served by another, trust me). If Garuda doesn’t see the value in tourists from Europe, how can Indonesia expect Europeans to see value in Bali?

What’s the difference between Indonesia and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult leadership. Yeah I know that’s unfair, but who’s making the decisions? Fortunately, Indonesia has a hot young stud in its London Embassy, who is doing more than just bird-dogging chicks and popping e-tabs. This guy wants Garuda back in town, serving tea to the Bali bound British.

Bali gets 99% of its foreign tourism through the airport. Feeding that airport with flights from developed countries is crucial. Garuda should lead the way. As put forward in the Bali Discovery article, Bali’s airport needs a major overhaul. When I landed a couple of months ago after a trip to Singapore, people were groaning, its took so long to get processed. There were 2 lanes open for a couple of plane loads, each person getting a grilling. Compare that to Bangkok, Singapore, KL. ‘Bam, bam, stamp, there’s your passport and thank you Sir’.

So how serious is Bali? We can do kecak dances all day, and court Perth travel agents, but what’s needed is a 10,000ft view of the whole show, and some action.

Is this journalism or what!