Translator in Bali, rudyanto@deacons.com

Calendar of Events 2009

http://balitourismdevelopment.blogspot.com/

Last updated August, 26 2009
Opening Ceremony with Turtle Release & Paddle for Peace

The first day of Kuta Karnival! Join the baby sea turtles on the Kuta beach at sunset and watch surfers from around the world welcome the Kuta Karnival.

Time: Saturday 19 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.
Venue: Balawista Lifeguard Corner.
Kite Festival

Look up to the sky and enjoy the colours of the Bali kites.

Time: Saturday 19 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.
Venue: Balawista Lifeguard Corner.
Puja Shanti

Participate and let’s resonate peace, from Bali to the entire world.

Time: Sunday 20 September 2009, sunset time.
Venue: Seminyak Beach.
Mepantigan Balinese Martial Art

See wrestling on sand at this sunset performance.

Time:
(Day 1) Sunday 20 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.
(Day 2) Monday 21 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.
(Day 3) Tuesday 22 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.

Venue: Main Tent.
“Morning of the Earth” Yoga

To all Yoga practitioners! Come and join this sunrise celebration on Seminyak Beach.

Time: Monday 21 September 2009, sunrise time.
Venue: Seminyak Beach.
Bali Hotels Association’s Bartender Competition

Watch Bali’s best bartenders compete on the beach… the party ingredient is Balimoon!

Time: Wednesday 23 September 2009, 3pm to 6pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Sunset Dances

Must see! Balinese traditional dances on the beach every sunset time. This is why Kuta Karnival always attracts a crowd of admirers.

Time: Wednesday 23 September until Saturday 26 September 2009, 5pm to 6pm.
Venue: Seminyak Beach.
Graffiti Cartoon Expose

Cartoonists from around Bali show off their talents.

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, 4pm to 7pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
T-Shirt Cartoon Competition

Calling tourists and locals… please join our cartoon competition and win for yourself great prizes.

Time: Sunday 20 September 2009, 4pm to 7 pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Mini Cartoon Exhibition

Laugh out loud, visit the cartoon exhibition!

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
Youth Race

Calling all high-school boys and girls… please join the amazing race.

Time:
(Day 1) Friday 25 September 2009, 10am to 7 pm.
(Day 2) Saturday 26 September 2009, 2pm to 7 pm.

Venue: start at Main Tent.
Movie Screening

Watch a movie on the beach!

Time: Everyday from Sunday 20 September until Saturday 26 September 2009, 7pm to 9pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Barong Reptile Show

Get up close and personal with the friendly reptiles of Bali… join Reptile Feeding Contest, workshop, body painting and there is also a giant snake!

Time: Everyday from Monday 21 September until Saturday 26 September 2009, 4pm to 7pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Street Art & Sand Sculpture Competition

Catch art on the streets of Kuta and when the weekend sunset comes, do art on the beach of Kuta.

Time: Everyday from Wednesday 23 September until Saturday 26 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
SFO & Oakley Present Open Stage

You want to show off your talent in music, singing or dancing? Come up to the Open Stage!

Time:
(Day 1) Tuesday 22 September 2009, 10am to 3pm.
(Day 2) Wednesday 23 September 2009, 10am to 3pm.

Venue: Main Tent.
Kuta Young Architects

See what the young ones are building on.

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
Youth Info Centre

Find more information about how exciting teenage years are.

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
Raremotion Artist Series

Students of the Arts Institute exhibit their works on Kuta beach.

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
Bali Blogger Community

Internet-mania… come and introduce yourself to the Bali Blogger Community.

Time: Everyday from Saturday 19 September until Sunday 27 September 2009, all day.
Venue: Main Tent.
Environment Day

Join fun games and learn about what you can do for our earth!

Time: Saturday 26 September 2009, 9am to 1pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Surfer Girl Presents the Surfer Girl Big Splash ‘09

Join two days of fun on the beach… if you surf, try the competition to win some great prizes however if you don’t, then just join the laughter with friends and family!

Time:
(Day 1) Thursday 24 September 2009, 9am to 5pm.
(Day 2) Friday 25 September 2009, 9am to 5pm.

Venue: Main Tent.
Cardinal Music Awards

Listen to fabulous music on the beach and see young bands compete for the grand prize in the midst of fabulous fashion shows.

Time: Friday 25 September 2009, 4pm to 10pm.
Venue: Main Tent.
Bali Food Festival

Food, food, food and more of delicious food!

Time:
(Day 1) Friday 25 September 2009, lunch and dinner.
(Day 2) Saturday 26 September 2009, lunch and dinner.
(Day 3) Sunday 27 September 2009, lunch and dinner.

Venue: Legian beach.
Fishing Fun

Join the fishermen and come back to cook your own catch of the day!

Time: Sunday 27 September 2009, 2pm to 6pm.
Venue: start from Bali Food Festival stage on Legian beach.
Street Parade & Closing Ceremony

At the closing of nine-day event, watch a carnival on the streets of Kuta with decorated cars, music and dancing!

Time: Sunday 27 September 2009, 3pm to 7pm.
Venue: Starting from Anggrek Inn, along the streets of Kuta, ending at the new Kuta Gates/Candi Bentar Kuta.

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Tourism offers unmissable business opportunities for Indonesia

As with people of all nationalities, many Indonesians spend their whole lives in their provinces, never traveling far from home.

About 13 percent of the population travel beyond what is required by their daily routines. That figure typically drops by 2 or 3 percent when you eliminate those who travel unexpectantly owing to unforeseen business or family matters.

In a year, only 3 percent of Indonesians travel by plane, the same 3 percent who live the so-called “good life” — that of plastic cards, new cars and luxury holidays — while just over 1 percent of all Indonesians have traveled overseas in the last 12 months, either for business or pleasure.

The Javanese, residents of the world’s most densely populated island, stay within the confines of Indonesia more than any other islander across the archipelago.

That’s understandable, considering distances, availability and cost of convenient transportation and the reality that most people do not have friends or relatives outside of their immediate area.

Sixty-five percent of travelers use buses, making it the most popular form of transportation, even during holdidays. A further 20 percent hop on their family motorbike for vacation.

Another 7 percent travel during holidays by cars owned within the family or by friends, while a mere 2 percent take the boat or ferry.

These statistics are compiled by the country’s largest syndicated survey operator, Roy Morgan Single Source, which surveys more than 27,000 Indonesian respondents annually.

The numbers, updated every 90 days, are estimated to reflect almost 90 percent of the population over the age of 14, representing a total of 140 million people.

All holiday-makers, regardless of the distances they travel, make a contribution to the local economy. Not many industries can claim to receive contributions from such a diverse range of customers.

Even before a traveler steps onto a bus or plane, a ticket has already been sold, a room has been booked. Taxi drivers, porters, doormen, chefs, waitresses and housekeeping staff all have jobs to do to support this one traveler.

As does the craftsman, the shopkeeper, the boatman, the barmaid — the list goes on. If you trace the number of employees called into action by a single tourist couple, the number could well run into the hundreds.

Tourism is good for employment, but it is also good in so many other incalculable ways. The exchange of views, the mingling, the sharing of culture, the goodness that natural beauty can bring, the development of communal pride and purpose. No industry promotes human values, the philosophy to live and let live and the celebration of life more than tourism.

With tourism growing rapidly in Asia, Indonesia is lagging way behind its neighbors. While Vietnam receives more and more tourists every year, Indonesia, hampered by its Bali-centric philosophy, languishes.

The world knows little about Indonesia beyond Bali, and those visiting Bali fail to make a connection to the rest of Indonesia.

It could be argued that the number of underachieving locales in Indonesia rivals the combined total of all other ASEAN countries.

By their own initiative, regional and local budget airlines appear to be doing more to develop travel and tourism than any other business or organization, including the cash-strapped ministry of tourism.

However, airline passengers who aren’t visiting friends and relatives need hotels, food, attractions, activities, shopping and night-life. The infrastructure is lacking.

Equally important is the need for a tourist-friendly local government that has its citizens’ welfare at the top of its agenda.

Here is an open invitation to form a coalition of the willing and to do some good and make some money: would an official from the ministry, a provincial government, a bank or the Investment Coordinating Board please stand up?

An e-mail to this writer from any of the above would result in an enthusiastic response by a group of capable, experienced investors who wish to execute a textbook construction of a new resort that would make proud all concerned.

If challenged to put my energy where my mouth is by readers of this column, I would join this coalition and dedicate as much time as I could to bring an eco-friendly, socially responsible resort to fruition in Indonesia.

It can be done, and with a greater dividend than any new city shopping mall could ever offer.

Let’s make some charity and a little investment with www.asiabersama.com/jamesbond2009

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