Australia accused of discriminating against Bali
A report in The Australian says that Balinese operators are accusing Australia of discriminating against Bali with an “ongoing frenzy” of travel warnings that have slashed Australian tourism to the island by 25%.
On the anniversary of the Jimbaran Bay and Kuta restaurant bombings, the Bali Tourism Board has complained to the Australian Government, asking it to tone down warnings by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade against travel to Indonesia because of potential terrorist attacks.
In a letter to Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia, tourism board chairman Bagus Sudibya blamed the downturn of visitors to the island on the “ongoing frenzy of warnings about Bali being unsafe”. Mr Sudibya acknowledged the two terrorist bombings and loss of life on the island, but said the warnings did not reflect measures to dramatically improve the safety and security of visitors.
“There are clearly other regions and cities throughout the world with greater security issues than Bali – Britain being one of them – but the travel advisories for such places are vastly ‘toned down’, issued with far less frequency, or indeed reduced overnight in the case of Thailand last week,” he said.
A DFAT spokeswoman said the ambassador in Jakarta, Bill Farmer, would respond directly to the letter, but Australia did not apologise for the warnings, which were based on credible sources.
A Special Thailand Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Overseas travelers to the United States declined by 2.5% in 2025