Shock Waves Lap Even on Bali’s Shores

Far from the troubled streets of Jakarta, a small group of Australians finish their last beers well after dawn, stand up on shaky legs and toss a parting salute to the barmaids at Mama’s German Restaurant and Bar in the heart of Bali’s Kuta Beach. Bali, with its Hindu-inspired tolerance, artistic culture and an identity distinct from the rest of largely Muslim Indonesia, has long been a favorite of foreign tourists.

And as Jakarta grapples with the fallout from riots last week that killed 500 people and destroyed more than $250 million worth of property, Bali’s calm makes it seem an entirely different, and unreal, world.

While the island has seen a few student demonstrations, they have been small and measured, including Monday’s around the government center in the city of Denpasar that saw marchers calling for President Suharto’s resignation to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands.”

Even local student leaders say Bali’s system of banjar, or community responsibility, makes rioting by Balinese almost unthinkable.

But not even Bali is immune to the national crisis. Despite the prevailing calm and the bargain prices resulting from the collapse of Indonesia’s currency, tourism is drying up as liability-shy tour operators pull out in droves. Adding to the impression of chaos was Monday’s abrupt resignation of Indonesia’s tourism minister, Abdul Latief.

The fact is, many foreigners don’t realize the island is even part of Indonesia until they book their trip, said Mayun Rasmi, a marketing director with Bali’s provincial tourist office. “They think it’s some little country called Bali.”

Bali is only one among Indonesia’s 13,700 islands, but it is important to the national economy. Tourism here attracted 2.1 million visitors and pumped $1.4 billion in direct foreign exchange into the country last year.

“Not going to Bali when Jakarta has trouble is a little like worrying about a demonstration in Greenwich Village when you’re in Yellowstone,” said Steve Robman, a television director vacationing from Los Angeles. But that’s not how some see it. Friday’s opening of the new, $80-million Hard Rock Hotel was hit by 200 cancellations in the first three days.

“Our timing wasn’t great,” said Marc Hediger, senior vice president of Singapore-based Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts.

A few officials worry that the island could be targeted by outsiders.

“Anti-government protesters have hit most other Indonesian cities,” said Hediger. “If they don’t feel they’re getting enough attention, they could come here, since Bali has the biggest concentration of whatever tourists are left.”

Some local nerves have been further rattled by a nationwide series of demonstrations planned for Wednesday, which is a national holiday. The Hard Rock plans to shut down completely, while some other hotels have evacuated staff or finalized contingency plans.

The Holiday Inn Balihai reported 800 cancellations by Monday, while the Bali Hilton said its occupancy rate was down to 36% from a normal 80%. Tourists of Chinese descent had a particularly tough calculation to make, given that last week’s mobs specifically targeted Chinese Indonesian families and businesses.

“I feel horrible they attacked Chinese around Jakarta,” said Yuh Lee, part of a convention of 1,300 Taiwanese insurance employees that did not cancel. “But friends in Bali told me not to worry.”

Those willing to brave the trip, meanwhile, found a buyer’s market: hotel rates ranging from $1.50 a night for a decent room to $50 for luxury lodgings.

“It’s cheaper to come to Bali than to fly within Australia,” said Virginia Foreman, a homemaker on holiday from Perth.