Lampung to host Krakatau Festival 2016

 Photo source:
Photo document of Anak Krakatau Mount. (ANTARA/Muhammad Iqbal)

The Lampung provincial government, along with representatives from 15 districts and cities in the province, will host the 26th Krakatau Festival 2016.

"A series of activities have been prepared to enliven the Krakatau Festival," Head of Public Relations and Protocol of Lampung Province Bayana stated in Bandarlampung on Thursday.

Bayana noted that the Krakatau Festival will kick off with an art exhibition showcasing photographs of underwater and tourist attractions in Lampung, a fashion show, acoustic music performance, and talk show.

Creative seminars will be held in Mal Boemi Kedaton Bandarlampung on August 24-28, 2016. Furthermore, on August 25-26, 2016, the festival will feature kite competitions and an amateur photo contest, in which participants from Bali, Yogyakarta, and West Nusa Tenggara as well as from foreign countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and France will take part. A workshop is also planned that will be attended by 200 children.

According to Bayana, a food festival featuring a culinary bazaar and a variety of games for children will be held on August 26-28.

"As is the tradition followed in the previous years, a Krakatau cruising tour will be organized on August 27, 2016, to explore the Anak Krakatau Mount by boat. The event will be preceded by the ngumbai lawok featuring dozens of decorative boats," he revealed.

The event will conclude with the Lampung Culture and Tapis Carnival. The participants at the event will be the delegates from districts and cities who will showcase the rich culture of Lampung and the archipelago.

The event is themed "Topeng Lampung." A gala event titled "Summit Investor" will be held later in the evening. The dinner, featuring music and fashion creations of Lampung, will be attended by investors.(Antara)

Read More

Swiss-Belhotel International celebrates launch Of Zest Hotel Legian Bali

To celebrate the grand opening of the new Zest Hotel Legian in Bali, Swiss-Belhotel International hosted a rooftop Neon Party for 150 invited guests on Monday 8 August. The party was held at sunset, allowing revellers to enjoy spectacular views from what is one of Legian's newest and most appealing downtown venues.

The fun started with a cocktail gathering as guests enjoyed the soothing sunset views. As night drew in, neon LED lights created a glowing ambience across the sky and local celebrity 'DJ Pamela' provided entertainment with dance music adding a soundtrack to a striking audio-visual display. To mark the official launch of the hotel, a special pyrotechnics switch was set up.

When pressed the word "ZEST" formed in letters of fire prompting applause and cheering from all the guests.

Later in the evening, the hotel hosted a special dinner at Jaen Bar & Kitchen which is located on the ground floor of the property. The menu offers a flavourful modern yet authentic selection of Balinese fusion food. Attending the rooftop party were a number of senior representatives from Swiss-Belhotel International, including the group's Chairman and President, Mr. Gavin M. Faull.

Also in attendance were Zest Hotel International CEO, Mr. Emmanuel Guillard, as well as the owners of Zest Hotel Legian, Mr. Ichsan Hidajat, Mr. Budi Hidajat, and Mr. Suyoga Ayub from PT. Tri-Asih-Sejahtera. "As the first ZEST branded hotel managed by Swiss-Belhotel International in Bali, the successful launch of the Zest Hotel Legian is a significant step in the continued development of the group, and also the growth of the ZEST brand," said Mr. Faull.

Zest Hotel Legian Bali will certainly appeal to travellers seeking a modern, budget hotel located in the heart of the island's most vibrant district. It offers safe, clean rooms at attractive rates with the added appeal of complete comfort and convenience. The addition of a rooftop space will also inspire more private functions in the future, whether it is birthday parties, BBQ dinners, or networking events.(TravelDailyNews)

Read More

Tourism ministry appoints international celebrities to attract Chinese tourists

Indonesias Tourism Ministry appointed two international celebrities, Christy Chung and Shawn Chang, as ambassadors of Pesona Indonesia to attract Chinese tourists to visit the country.

A press release issued by the Tourism Ministry and received here by ANTARA on Wednesday said China has become one of the premier tourist markets for Indonesia and the target is to attract 2.1 million Chinese tourists to visit the entire archipelago.

"The exotic islands in Indonesia are like a jewel buried, and are rich in tourism potential. Through our work with Christy Chung and some of the leading hotels in Indonesia, we would like to introduce the best travel experience in Southeast Asia to the tourists," said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya. Chinese tourists have been increasingly showing an interest to travel to destinations that have a diversity of cultural and entertainment attractions.

The Tourism Ministry offers a diverse range of cultural, adventure travel, sports, history, art and culture, ancient traditions as well as modernity in Bali, the metropolis of Jakarta, besides the natural beauty of the underwater Raja Ampat in West Papua and Komodo National Park in Sumbawa.

Christy Chung, Shawn Chang and his family embarked on the "Pesona Indonesia" journey this week to enjoy a holiday and relax in a number of leading hotels in Bali following a visit to Komodo Island. Christy Chung, 46, is a Chinese artist born in Canada. In addition to winning the "Miss Chinese International" (1992), she also acted in dozens of films, including "The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994)". (Antara)

Read More

Tourism will ‘collapse’ if alcohol bill passed: PHRI

A hotel association has warned the government and the legislative body that Indonesian tourism will “collapse” should the House of Representatives pass a bill prohibiting alcohol in the country.

The bill, introduced by the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), both Islamist parties, does not take into account voices from players in the tourist sector.

Despite the uproar from business people in the tourist sector, like the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), the House has continued with the bill’s deliberation.

"If the bill is passed, our business will be done. The tourists, who mostly come from Europe, drink alcohol all the time. It will be very inconvenient for them if they can't find alcohol," PHRI head Hariyadi Sukamdani told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday. 

If passed, the law will be the first to impose a full nationwide ban on the production, distribution and consumption of drinks with an alcoholic content of 1 to 55 percent. 

Hariyadi said even with a recent regulation on the distribution of alcohol issued by Rachmat Gobel, the former trade minister, business had suffered negative impacts. Many foreign tourists complained about the difficulty of finding alcoholic drinks.

"No matter how beautiful the country is, if they can't find alcohol, they won't want to come here," Hariyadi said.  (Jakarta Post)

Read More

Soekarno-Hatta Airport's Terminal 3 Ultimate Officially Opened

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 3 Ultimate was officially opened to the public on Tuesday morning (09/08), with several domestic flights operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia departing and arriving at the airport's largest and newest terminal.

Garuda Indonesia's flight from Jakarta to Jayapura, Papua, was the first to depart from Terminal 3 Ultimate at 1.20 a.m. The new terminal, said to be capable of handling 25 million passengers a year, provides much-needed additional capacity to Indonesia's busiest airport.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, along with the board of directors of state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II, inspected the new terminal for two and a half hours on Tuesday morning.

"I have told Angkasa Pura II to evaluate the terminal and independently implement corrective measures [if needed]. There's no need to wait for other people's opinions to improve the terminal," Minister Budi during the visit. He also called on Garuda Indonesia to use the new terminal to promote tourism in order to boost the number of foreign tourist arrivals, by providing competitive and attractive offers, as the terminal is claimed to be "the new gate for tourism."

"There are currently 15 million visitors from Australia, China, India and other countries. Among those, we expect 5 million visitors to transit in Jakarta. One million of those are expected to be tourists in Indonesia," Budi said.

 The new terminal is currently serving Garuda Indonesia's 128 domestic flights. It will gradually start to host international flights from March next year. The terminal was due to open before the Idul Fitri holidays in June and July, but electrical and navigational problems caused several delays. (Jakarta Globe)

Read More

Indonesia to develop new tourist destinations around Borobudur

The government has revealed plans to develop surrounding areas of Borobudur temple in Magelang regency, Central Java as new tourist destinations, including Bener district, Salaman and Tritis. 

"Among the new destinations in the development concept are Bener district in Purworejo regency, Salaman in Magelang regency and Tritis in Kulonprogo regency," said Central Java Tourism Agency head Prasetyo Aribowo last week as quoted by Antara news agency. 

 The concept aims to lure tourists arriving at Yogyakarta’s new airport in Kulonprogo to visit the aforementioned destinations prior to visiting Borobudur temple, which attracts around 3.5 million tourists every year. 

"Therefore, people will not just come to Borobudur, but they will also enjoy other destinations," he said, adding that a new road would be built from Kulonprogo airport to the temple to support the plan.(Jakarta Post)

Read More

Number of Indian tourists to Bali up 55.83 percent

The number of Indian tourists to Bali reached 92,731 people, during the first semester of 2016, up 55.83 percent from 59,509 people during last years same period.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showed that the tourist arrivals from India recorded the highest increase among ten countries contributing the largest number of tourists to Bali.

The Indian tourist arrivals constituted 4.08 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals reaching 2.27 million in Bali during the first semester, up 18.59 percent from 1.91 million in the same period in the previous year.

The Bali Provincial Tourism Office has set a target of attracting as many as 4.2 million foreign tourists this year.

In 2015, Bali received 4.001 million people, 6.24 percent more than previous year when 3.76 million people had arrived. (Antara)

Read More

Plan Your Holiday to Grand Nikko Bali , Family Deal is Back!

Visit: http://www.grandnikkobali.com/offers/family-deal

Read More

Mola-Mola Season in Full Swing

Gigantic Mola-Mola Sun Fish Makes Annual Return to Nusa Penida, Bali

 

The gigantic Mola-Mola fish have returned to Nusa Penida.

The Mola-Mola, a large, docile sun fish that grow to a top-to-bottom height to as much as one meter, makes an annual migration to the small off-shore island located a short distance from Bali during the months of July and August.

The remarkable fish is most often found at a depth of around 20-meters near Crystal Bay, Blue Corner Beach, Toyapakeh Beach or off Nusa Penida’s north coast.

The fish is notoriously shy and those wishing to see the Mola-Mola should only do so in the company of a guide from a reputable diving operator and follow all instructions established under a code of conduct established by the Coral Triangle Center (CTC), the Klungkung Regency and the Marine Tourism Association (Gahawisri). The code protects the ecosystem, with special emphasis on marine life species such as the Mola-Mola and Manta Rays.

Destruction of the reef or being disturbed by overly-aggressive divers can cause the reclusive Mola-Mola to seek new grounds.

Related Article

Moola from Mola Mola

© Bali Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com.

 

Read More

Halal tourism to grow rapidly

Halal tourism sector is considered to grow rapidly that every side has to respond this potential to develop business on such field.

"The population of Muslim worldwide is estimated to increase to 26 percent of the total population by 2030, giving opportunities to Islamic tourism sector to keep growing," the Division President Mastercard, Safdar Khan said here on Tusday.

Data from Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016 shows the number of global Muslim tourist visits reaches 117 million in 2015.

The number is estimated to grow to 168 million by 2020 with a total expenditure value of US$200 billion.

Mastercard has established cooperation with HalalTrip in providing an internet platform for Muslim businesses engaged in tourism to launch and promote their products for Muslims tourists.

HalalTrip and Mastercard will launch HalalTrip City Pass that facilitates people to access the popular tourist destinations around the world.

Another product is HalalTrip Getaways which helps people to plan their trips according to their needs in Islamic way.

In addition to the two products, there is HalalTrip Homes which has a reference for halal accommodation for Muslim tourists. 

"We hope these Muslim life style-based products will improve the payment landscape, boost cross-nation trading and support the establishment of new standard on general tourism industry," Khan remarked.

Meanwhile, the CEO of CrescentRating & Halal Trip, Fazal Bahardee, said these products are examples of the advancement of current Muslim tourist markets.

Earlier, the General Chairman of Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, said the halal business is developing very fast at national and international levels.

According to Rosan, the development is not only due to the high growth of Muslim population, but also the strong tends of non-Muslim community who consider halal products are safe and qualified.

"Competition in gaining halal markets in the era of free trade at the moment is no longer a monopoly of Islamic countries or Muslim-majority population countries. The non-Muslim countries have been preparing facilities and meeting requirements of halal product that can be accepted by halal products consumers," he added.(Antara)

Read More

Raffles Jakarta

One of our top picks in Jakarta. Raffles Jakarta is strategically located in the central business district of Jakarta. This hotel also features unique art experience as it is linked to Ciputra Artpreneur Centre, an art gallery, museum and theatre complex.

Featuring luxurious rooms with soothing colours and warm décor, the stylish air conditioned rooms are fitted with plush sofa and marble flooring, the room is also equipped with a flat-screen cable TV and complete with a laptop safe. An electric kettle and minibar are also provided. The large en suite bathroom comes with a bathtub, hairdryer and a shower.

Raffles Jakarta operates a 24-hour front desk that provides luggage storage, concierge and laundry/dry cleaning services. A business centre, children's playground and meeting/banqueting facilities are available. Airport transfer, babysitting service and day trips can also be arranged with an additional charge. Other facilities offered on-site include currency exchange, fitness centre, an outdoor swimming pool and a tennis court. Relaxing treatments can be enjoyed at the spa and wellness centre.

Delicious Continental and Asian food can be enjoyed at Arts Cafe by Raffles. Other sumptuous refreshments can also be sampled at Navina Poolside Bar and Writers Bar.
The hotel is a 5-minute walk to Ciputra Artpreneur Centre and a 15-minute drive to Grand Indonesia Shopping Centre as well as Plaza Indonesia. It takes 45 minutes' car ride to reach Jakarta Soekarno Hatta Airport.

Free WiFi access is available throughout the property.

Setiabudi is a great choice for travellers interested in friendly people, business and nightlife.

This property is also rated for the best value in Jakarta! Guests are getting more for their money when compared to other properties in this city.

We speak your language!

Raffles Jakarta has been welcoming Booking.com guests since 5 Jun 2015
Hotel Rooms: 173, Hotel Chain: Raffles 

Location:  Jalan Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav. 3-5, Setiabudi, 12940 Jakarta, Indonesia – Great location - show map

You've found a property that offers these popular facilities:

Free WiFi

Outdoor pool

Airport shuttle (surcharge)

Spa and wellness centre

Fitness centre

Family rooms

Non-smoking rooms

Free parking

Restaurant

Read More

Number of tourists visiting Bali increased by 18.59 percent

Bali welcomed 2.27 million foreign tourists during the first semester of 2016, 18.59 percent more than the previous years figure of 1.91 million tourists.

"A total of 2.23 tourists came by air directly through the Ngurah Rai Airport while the remaining 38,644 people come via the sea port," said the head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali, Adi Nugroho, in Denpasar on Monday.

The Bali Provincial Tourism Office has set a target of attracting as many as 4.2 million foreign tourists to the Dewata Island this year. In 2015, Bali received 4.001 million people, 6.24 percent more than previous year when 3.76 million people had arrived. The numbers are slightly above the target set at 4 million tourists.

Adi Nugroho said the month of June 2016 witnessed 405,835 people visiting Bali, 12.83 percent more than those who visited in the same month in 2015, and 2.86 percent more than the number of visitors coming in May this year.

Of the ten countries from where tourists mainly come to Bali, seven have seen a major increase in the numbers. The number of tourists arriving from the other three has decreased.

The seven countries from where significantly larger number of tourists arrived included Australia, that registered an increase of 10.43 percent, as 486,087 people arrived between January and June 2015 compared to 536,767 people arriving in the same period in 2016.

China came second as tourist numbers rose by 35.85 per cent, from 341,559 to 464,002. Similarly, 4.97 percent more Japanese tourists arrived with numbers going up from 104,246 to 109,424.

Great Britain contributed the fourth largest chunk of foreign tourists. The number of tourists from that country increased by 42.45 percent, up from 68,977 people arriving from January to June 2015 as 98,311 arrived in the same period in 2016.

While 59,509 tourists came from India in the same period in 2015, the number rose by 55.83 percent since 92,731 tourists came from the South Asian country this year in that period in 2016. The number of tourists from the United States grew by 32.50 percent, from 63,097 to 83,606 people, just as French tourists number increased by 26.79 percent from 53,128 to 67,362.

Adi Nugroho added that three other countries from where lesser number of tourists arrived were Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore. Malaysia contributed 9.08 percent less tourists. Compared to 98,658 tourists who came from Malaysia from January to June 2015, only 89,699 people arrived in the same period in 2016.

South Koreans number dropped 6.50 percent from 75,902 tourists to 70,971 while number of tourists from Singapore slipped 8.41 percent from 75,580 people to 69,224, said Adi Nugroho. (Antara)

Read More

Mentawai Islands offer some 400 surfing spots

Mentawai Islands, a chain of dozens of islands and islets off the western coast of Sumatra, offers some 400 surfing spots with some of the best waves to be found anywhere in the world.

District Head of Mentawai Islands Yudas Sabaggalet said here on Saturday that Mentawai Islands have become one of the most sought after surf destinations for the world class waves, a natural feature that holds a huge potential for its tourism industry.

"Some 23 of the 400 surfing spots have world class waves," the district head added.

Sabaggalet also proudly said Mentawai has the second best kind of waves in the world after Hawaii.

Around 7,000 international tourists visited Mentawai Islands for surfing each year, he revealed.

The region earned around Rp583.2 billion (US$44 million) each year from its tourism sector alone.

The local administration will be setting up a special economic region to boost the economy and tourism sector in Mentawai by developing the Trans Mentawai road to provide access and connectivity to the people in the islands.

Around 80 percent area in Mentawai Island is forest, and infrastructure development has become a challenge for the local administration in its efforts to boost its tourism sector.

Meanwhile, Chair of Indonesian Tours and Travel Association of West Sumatra Ian Hanafiah suggested that local people of Mentawai should also be involved in the development of the local tourism sector.

Foreign investment is necessary, but synergy with the local human resource and society is a must, he advised.

"In 2016, West Sumatras tourism grew quite rapidly. What is required is synergy to keep it growing," Hanafiah stressed.

The islands, which lie approximately 150km off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait, have waves which vary in size from 2 to 15 feet.

Its broad exposure towards the vast southern Indian Ocean provides these islands with great waves all year round.

A group of indigenous people, called the Mentawai people, are still living in the islands.

The tribal people of Mentawai Islands are also known for their traditional tattoo art.

Several tribes in Mentawai are still practicing the tattoo art, a uniqueness of Mentawai special arts.(Antara)

Earlier:

• Surf the waves of Mentawai

• Pesona Mentawai Festival 2016 in Surfers' Paradise

Read More

Terminal 3 of Soekarno Hatta Airport on stream next month

The third terminal of the Soekarno Hatta International Airport is to be operational in mid August. 

"Terminal 3 would be verified God willing in the second week of of August to coincide with the National Day commemoration," Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in a news conference here on Thursday. 

Air Transport Director General Suprasetyo said his office is ready for the official commissioning earlier as scheduled on Sept. 9.

"But it depends on the president. We are ready if the official commission is to take place in early or in mid August," he said. 

The commissioning ceremony will include over all domestic routes of the nations flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, he said.

Corporate secretary of port operator PT Angkasa Pura II Agus Haryadi said the state company will seek to meet all standards of safety, security and services set by the regulator. 

"We have discussed this matter at meetings with the transport ministry on 9 August 2016," he said. 

He said actually President Joko Widodo wanted the terminal to be operational before Idulfitri earlier this month , but it was not yet ready in safety, security and service aspects.

The ministry, therefore, announced that operation of the terminal was postponed. 

Chief spokesman of the Transport Ministry Hemi Pamurahardjo linked the postponement of the operation of the terminal to a number of factor including psychological aspect. 

The government did not want to take risk when it was set to bring to reality Idul Fitri days with zero accident, he said. 

In addition there was political technical factor with the government set to improve its aviation reputation after sinking low marked with the ban on Indonesian airlines to fly to Europe by the European Commission in 2007.

"Currently we are endeavoring hard to pass through to Category I of FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)," he said. 

He said hard work has produced good result with ICAO giving a good value of 94.5. 
"We dont want Garuda Indonesia , as the only airline which is allied to global Sky Team, has its reputation falling again only because of a mistake in the operation of the third terminal," he said. (Antara)

Read More

PENGLIPURAN BALI: WORLD'S THIRD CLEANEST VILLAGE

If you think Bali is merely all about sun, sand, and barreling waves, then you definitely need to explore a bit further because this enchanting island offers so much more. Among the picturesque landscape of lush rice paddies and breathtaking hills of her interior, you can also find a number of beautiful traditional villages with typical Balinese houses with an authentic traditional way of life that is still practiced by its people until today.  One particular village which stands out and was recently recognized among the top three cleanest villages in the world, is Penglipuran village situated in the Bangli regency.

As quoted from okezone.com and liputan6.com, Penglipuran is regarded  as one of the world's cleanest villages along with Giethoorn in the Netherlands and Mawlynnong in India.

Located not too far from Kintamani and set along a hilly countryside, the village of Penglipuran is a delightful, well-kept village composed of wide, brick roads, lined with rows of charming, antique traditional houses interspersed with neatly manicured gardens. The village is traditionally constructed,  remaining true to traditional methods of bamboo architecture. In this bamboo village, almost everything around you is made from the abundant plant; kitchens, majestic gates and doorways, furniture, roofs and gates. Many of the styles and creations, such as the bamboo roof shingles, are unique to this little community and not found elsewhere.

Most definitely, the beauty of the village radiates from its cleanliness. This is because, here the significance of environmental awareness is part and parcel of daily culture and is taught since early childhood for generations. Both local villagers and tourists are not allowed to throw trash carelessly, while smokers are only allowed to smoke in certain designated smoking areas. As part of the environmental friendly activities, every month all housewives of the village gather to collect and sort the trash. The organic trash will be processed into fertilizers while plastics and other inorganic trash are sold for recycling or collected in a “trash bank”.

Visitors may visit the village any time of the year, but the best time to visit Penglipuran is nearing the  Galungan  religious festivities. On these days, the village will be decorated with rows of “penjor” or decorative bamboo poles on which are suspended unique accessories. Atthese occasions, you will also see young girls in Balinese traditional dress carry towering banten  of trays of offerings on their head as they step gracefully from each home to the village pura or Hindu temple.

Sources: okezone.com,  liputan6.com, pegipegi.com

Photo Source : pegipegi.com

(Indonesia.travel)

Read More