Some countries like Australia and Japan kept unlifted travel warnings for their citizens who want to visit Indonesia, especially the tourist island of Bali, while others issues such warning right after the suicide bombings in Jimbaran and Kuta tourist resorts killed 23 on Oct. 1, the official news agency Antara reported Monday.

Up to Friday, ten countries had issued travel warnings against the visit of their citizens to Indonesia, especially Bali, spokesman of the Tourism and Culture Ministry Turman Siagian was quoted by Antara as saying.

Though the second Bali bombing did not cause excessive panic among people on the island like the first bombing in 2002, a number of countries still considered it necessary to issue travel warnings after the second bombings, he said.

"It is the right of every government to issue a travel warning to protect its citizen, so we can only inform other countries of the situation and developments and ask for their understanding," he added.

For that purpose, the Tourism and Culture Ministry and the Foreign Ministry had continued to take diplomatic steps to make other countries convinced that Indonesia, especially Bali, was in peaceful condition, he said.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry had prepared recovery programs which were focused on rescue and rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation programs to be implemented from November 2005 to January 2006, would be concentrated on promotion and communications activities in coordination with other institutions.

Bali has been Southeast Asia's favorite travel destination. The Indonesian government expected the island to receive over one million tourists in 2005.

Source: Xinhua