Government officials, police officers along with trade representatives convened three press briefings in Denpasar on Tuesday to illustrate measures and determination to help the Indonesian resort island of Bali recover from Saturday's string of bombings and revitalize its pillar industry -- tourism. Minister of Culture and Tourism Ir. Jero Wacik tried to ensure people that Bali was normal, by citing that Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had just concluded a bilateral meeting here and then paid a joint visit to those wounded people in hospitals in the early morning.

According to the minister, during the two leaders' meeting, Lee said he was optimistic that Susilo and his government were able to handle this situation, while Susilo thanked the Singaporean government for its sympathy and medical aid it had given to Indonesia to assist the bombing victims. "International activities are continuing as normal. (The presence of the prime minister here) is a message to the world that the situation in Bali is normal," he said at the first press briefing here on Tuesday.

At the third press briefing, Bagus Sudibya, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies, said that Bali needed at least three months to recover from the explosions which have killed 22 people and injured 122 others so far, in spite of improved security and concerted efforts of trade associations and the government.

For travel agencies, more promotion activities about the security of Bali needed to be done to draw customers, said Sudibya,adding that certain "political decisions" by the central government could also play an important role to encourage Bali to shed off the shadow of bombings.

"We have good confidence in tourists, especially those from Australia, who are expected to return here soon," he said.

As to the sector of hotel, Robert Kelsall, representative of the Bali Hotels Association, said that more security measures would be adopted by local hotels to ensure guests that here was safe.

"For example, we plan to deploy more centrally-controlled TV systems to monitor the surroundings and guarantee that every admission is no problem," he said.

Meanwhile, the local police were expected to train community people so that they could possess certain professionalism to be alert against terrorism, he added.

Representative from national carrier Garuda Uun Setiawan said that the giant airliner would join hands with other small-scale fliers to help the influx of travelers into Bali to return to normal.

"At present, Garuda's service between Indonesia and Australia is still normal, around 30 flights a week," he said, adding that the booking of tickets for other flights of his company was also okay.

During the second press briefing here on Tuesday, Sunarko, assistant to Head of the Public Relations Division of Bali Provincial Police, said that the police were questioning 39 witnesses while certain evidence was tested from seven crime scenes.

Meanwhile, he called for the public to provide information about the bombers whose photos were displayed nationwide on Monday,in order to help crack the case and make Bali clean again.

Figures from these officials and representatives showed that hotel occupancy rate was down by 10 percent, tourist arrival from Australia down by 2 to 5 percent and that from Japan down by 10 to 20 percent, as a result of Saturday's blasts.

The island resort used to attract some 10,000 visitors per month and the average hotel occupancy rate stands at 60 to 70 percent.

This is the second time that the island has been hit by explosions. On Oct. 12, 2002, deadly bombings killed 202 people in downtown Bali.

Source: Xinhua