KUTA ~ Although a policy had been implemented to make Jl. Legian a no-parking zone, violations had occurred, despite prohibitive signs in the area, an official said.

“Parking violators have been warned many times, but violations of the new policy continue. We’ve often had to expel parking offenders,” a civil defense official said.

Gede Suparta, Kuta village chief, argued that since the policies were new, it would take a while for people to get used to not parking on Jl. Legian.

“The new policy is still in the middle of its socialization process. Please understand if violations have been made,” Suparta said.

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KARANGASEM ~ Twenty Thai journalists, in a visit organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok in conjunction with the Culture and Tourism Ministry, were welcomed here this week by Karangasem Regent I Wayan Geredeg in Candidasa.

The journalists were invited to Karangasem as part of a continuous effort to bring in more tourists from Thailand, Geredeg said.

The tour was also aimed at introducing Indonesia’s culture and natural landscape to Thailand through mass media promotion, official Ganda Sumantri added.

The ministry hoped to achieve a target of 400,000 Thai tourists in Indonesia this year, he said.

“Bali, as one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations, and Karangasem specifically were chosen for the journalists’ group, in order to introduce them to the pleasure and safety of our tourist attractions,” he said.

I Nengah Parwatha, head of the Culture and Tourism Office in Bali, said that promotion through mass media would be effective in Thailand since it was a somewhat advanced country, especially in terms of the role of media in education and development.

He said that he hoped the journalists would acknowledge Karangasem’s appeal and relate the information through the media so that Bali would become a top tourist destination for Thai tourists.

The journalists seemed to be impressed by the traditional dance performances, including the Barongket, he added.

KUTA ~ Billboards in Kuta have started to draw complaints about violating Bali’s natural landscape, a spokesman said.

Kuta village chief Gede Suparta said that billboards, which were attached to electric poles and trees, looked chaotic; furthermore, most of the billboards had not been granted permission for installment.

Suparta said he sent a letter to local officials regarding the issue.

I Wayan Puspa Neara, a member of the regional House of Representatives, agreed that the billboards were not aesthetically pleasing, especially on Jl. Legian, where there were many tourists.

The government should realize this since Kuta would be one of development’s priorities in the future, he said.

TUBAN ~ Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik asked the central government to add three more daily flights from Singapore to Bali on Singapore Airlines (SQ).

If his request is honored, SQ would offer Singapore-Bali flights six times a day, he said.

According to Wacik, 60 percent of European tourists who visited Singapore also wanted to visit Bali via Singapore, but there weren’t enough flights offered to fulfill the demand.

Wacik said his office calculated an opportunity loss of 223,588 potential tourists per year because of the lack of available seats on Singapore-Bali flights.

There were more flights from Europe to Singapore than there were flights from Singapore to Bali, resulting in a bottleneck phenomenon, he said.

“These conditions should be anticipated by the government. There should be at least two extra flights from Singapore to Denpasar,” he added.

In addition, Wacik said that Indonesia needed to offer independent flights because it could not wholly rely on other companies.

SEMINYAK ~ Head of the Badung Fire Department I Nyoman Suweta said that hotel management teams did not take fire safety seriously enough.

“Theoretically, extinguishing fires takes immediate action. If there is an obstacle barring our access, it makes our job more difficult,” he said.

In addition to making sure fire fighters would have unhindered access to hotels in case of far, Suweta said that it was also important for hotels to have functioning Siamese connections, which were Y-shaped standpipes that needed to be installed close to the ground outside a building in order to provide connections for fire hoses.

The Badung Fire Department visited hotels in the Kuta and Jimbaran in April to increase fire awareness, he added.

DENPASAR ~ According to data from the Employment Department of Badung regency, the total number of foreign workers in Badung rose by 20.12 percent from March 2007 to March 2008.

“The increase is a result of the demand in global world competition. Companies have added foreign laborers to increase their international image. However, local labor also has its place in the growing market,” Putra, head of the Badung Employment Department, said.

According to the data, 409 foreigners worked in the tourism sector, including hotels and restaurants: 85 were from Japan, 64 were from England, 61 were Dutch, 58 were American, 50 were German and the remainder came from other countries.

Putu Marhaendra, head of the Regional Representative Labor Union Board in Badung, said however that although Indonesian workers tended to be more creative than foreigners, certain factors made competition unhealthy between foreign and local laborers.

He said that he hoped the government would control the increase of foreign labor and enforce Regulation No. 13, 2003 regarding employment.

KUTA ~ The Society Management Organization (LPM) of Kuta has issued a statement saying they have created a program to control the amount of traveling salesmen, vagrants, beggars and sidewalk merchants on Jl. Legian.

Village Security Assistance would be established, Kuta LPM spokesman I Ketut Manuaba said.

However, Manuaba asked citizens to be patient because the program was still being realized.

He said several organizers of shops had previously approached LPM to arrange a program on Jl. Legian that would control traveling salesmen, who often grabbed at their potential clients.

“Potential customers walking on the street who are about to enter our shops are often accosted by these salesman. As a result, potential customers are prevented from entering our shops because they are led away. This is not right. This is unhealthy competition,” one shop organizer said.

Another organizer added that traveling salesmen’s attitudes were also often unsympathetic.