Threats to the tourism industry

Threats to the tourism industry

Travel Warnings
Australia[86]	2006-08-21	All Indonesia	Terrorist threats
UK[87]	2006-08-21	All Indonesia	Terrorist threats
		Maluku, Central Sulawesi, Aceh	Regional conflicts
United States[88]	2015-01-03	Surabaya	Terrorist threats

The initial terrorist attack was the 2002 Bali bombing. This was a major blow to Indonesia's tourism industry. A series of travel warnings were issued by a number of countries. Subsequently, the rate of tourism in Balidecreased by 32%.^[89] After this 2002 attack, the following 3 years also suffered 3 major terrorist bombings: the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing, the 2004 Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, and a second bombing in Bali. Fortunately in 2008, no major terrorist attack occurred since 2005, and the United States Governmentlifted its warning against travel to Indonesia.^[90] In 2006, 227,000 Australians visited Indonesia, and in 2007, this tourist rate continued to rise with a recorded 314,000 tourists entering Indonesia.^[90]

An outbreak of bird flu throughout the country has affected the numbers of foreign visitors. As of 2006, the outbreak had killed at least 46 people since 2005, making Indonesia the country with the highest death-toll from the recent epidemic.^[91] However, since the disease has not yet been proven to mutate into a form that can transfer from human to human, the U.S. embassy, for example, has not yet issued a travel warning regarding the outbreak.^[92]

Another major threat to the tourism industry are sectarian and separatist conflicts in Indonesia. Papua is still affected by Papuan separatism, while Maluku and Central Sulawesihave suffered in recent years from serious sectarian conflicts. Conversely, decades of separatism-related violence in Aceh ended in 2005 with the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesia Government and the Free Aceh Movement.^[93]

In 2008, the U.S. government lifted their travel warning on Indonesia.^[94]

source wikipedia