Bali Preparation to welcome APEC Summit

Bali preparation to welcome APEC Summit BY DESY NURHAYATI ON 2012-12-17 As Bali will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit next year, the government on Saturday launched Gerakan Bali Bersih (Clean Bali Movement) to raise public awareness on preserving the island’s environment. Initiated by the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, a cleanup took place on Kuta Beach and was a joint effort involving stakeholders, students, civil organizations and the public, as part of the island’s preparations for next year’s important event.

Firmansyah Rahim, the ministry’s director general for tourism destination development, said the activity in Bali was part of a national program to improve the country’s image as a clean, beautiful and convenient destination.


“We hope that people in Bali will always keep their environment clean, not just for APEC,” he said.

Cleanup activities under this program will take place in the coming months in other locations until October next year, when the summit is due to be held in Nusa Dua.

Hundreds of participants joined the cleanup at the island’s iconic beach. A tree planting also took place during the event.

In addition to the beach cleanup, the ministry has already held other events related to the Clean Bali Movement, including training on safety management for hotels attended by members of Bali’s Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI Bali), police and hotel security officers, as well as a campaign on cleanliness and garbage management that took place in six tourism villages in November.

All the island’s tourism stakeholders are gearing up to welcome the summit.

Recently, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu ensured that all preparations for the APEC Summit were proceeding according to plan.

One of the preparations underway is the expansion of Ngurah Rai International Airport, which is expected to be finished between June and July next year.

Other ongoing projects are the construction of the elevated highway over the ocean and the underpass at the Dewa Ruci intersection, both to be completed by July next year.

For each of the 21 heads of state and accompanying delegations at the summit, one hotel in the BTDC (Bali Tourism Development Corporation) complex and surrounding areas will be set aside, meaning that each national delegation will be assigned to one hotel.

In order to meet the accommodation requirements, star-rated hotels outside the complex will also be used, including those located in Tanjung Benoa, Sawangan, Jimbaran and Uluwatu.

Firmansyah said the APEC conference would have a positive impact on tourism, not only in Bali, but also nationwide, as it was expected to boost foreign tourist arrivals to the country.

“Besides APEC, we will also host other international events next year,” he said.

Indonesia expects 9 million foreign tourist arrivals next year, an increase from this year’s target of 8 million tourists.

As of October, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country had reached some 6.5 million, a rise of 5 percent compared to 6.2 in the period January to October last year.

Earlier last week, in addition to the APEC preparation, a community-initiated movement cleaned up Keramas beach in Gianyar, one of the island’s popular surfing spots.

Staff and students from Bali Wise, Island Sustainability Center and Komune Resort joined together to clean the beach and the sand dunes south of the Keramas break, as well as the first 100 meters of the river.

Fifteen Ketapang trees were planted to provide shade and erosion control. These trees were grown in the compost they were planted in, which was produced from the Waste to Wonder Program at the Island Sustainability Center sponsored by Rotary Club Bali, Nusa Dua.Experts advised on ensuring the trees were planted in the best position for them to get off to a healthy start.

Sources : Bali Preparation to welcome APEC Summit: http://www.thejakartapost.com/bali-daily/2012-12-17/bali-dressed-welcome-apec-summit.html