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Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Start -> Blog.
I had an interesting PATA Board Meeting this morning, with a number of old faces in the tourism industry of Indonesia. With Alistair Speirs presiding as chair, flanked by Ibu Meity Robot and Max, as well as Ibu Ita from Rumah Sleman Wonosobo.
The subject was what tourism industry Indonesia can do, post Aceh tsunami relief effort. There was a deep feeling of unease about the lack of trusted information source for would-be travelers, with first-hand accounts, that would be accessible to the world. On indo.com alone, within days of the tsunami, we had sent hundreds of email saying that Bali is unaffected, physically or spiritually (seriously, a fun-seeking tourist would not want to go to somber place), to satisfy the many questions of our visitors.
So… this blog is the first step. Informal yet credible. Hopefully. And we need help from everyone - yes, you are included - to do this.
If you work in the tourism industry in Indonesia, please
email us (blog@indo.com)
about what you see in your areas, from the areas in Aceh
(did you know that 70% of Banda Aceh was intact, like
it was before tsunami?) and Nias (anyone has pictures
of the Big Kahuna waves in Nias after the earthquake?)
to destinations in Jakarta and other parts of Java to
Bali to Toraja and Sulawesi and the eastern parts of Indonesia.
If you are not in the tourism industry in Indonesia, you
can still help. Most importantly, travel. Come visit us
in Indonesia. Tell friends and help people to travel to
Indonesia. Let the world know of this blog: www.indo.com/IndonesiaTourismBlog.
Officially, of course, here are statements from PATA worldwide and from PATA Indonesia, as well as from the government of Indonesia.
After this blog, we'll set up a forum for open discussions, and contact center where travelers and travel agents and the trade can interact with the right people in Indonesia. For now, I'd better be a good father and help my daughter with her piñata at her 5th birthday party…
posted by Eka Ginting at 09:39
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