The hospitality industry in Bali is optimistic of more MICE business from Australia following the success of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently.
More than 10,000 participants from nearly 190 counties attended the two-week conference in December to discuss rising global temperatures, creating the largest conference ever held in Indonesia.
While media attention was riveted on the deliberations of the conference, the tourism and hospitality industry was delighted with the positive messages sent out by the outstanding planning and trouble-free implementation of the massive catering, meetings and security agendas.
We were especially delighted to see that the Prime Minister of Australia made this conference his first official overseas assignment, said Garuda Indonesias General Manager of Australia and the South-West Pacific Mr Poerwoko Soeparyono.
After many headlines about travel warnings over the years, there was the Australian Prime Minister and his team working in safety and harmony in Bali with leaders from around the world.
The global acclaim that greeted the running of this conference is a wonderful lead-in to the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 (VIY08) and is expected to give a further boost to Australian visitor numbers, he said.
Bali Hotels Association spokesman Mr Michael Burchett says The UNFCCC has given Bali enormous positive coverage worldwide, which will enhance the growing interest in Bali as a primary choice for the MICE industry.
The challenges posed by past events have been overcome through the combined efforts of the Government, Tourism Industry at large, and everyone who believed in Bali. Happily, late 2006 saw the return of MICE to Bali from many traditional markets, with the noted exception of Australia, and growth in 2007 has been significant. Hopefully the Australian MICE market can renew their belief and confidence in Bali and return, said Mr Burchett, who is General Manager of the Conrad Bali Resort and Spa.
Widely respected Bali tourism identity and publisher Jack Daniels (Bali Update, Bali Discovery Tours, and the annual Bali MICE Guide) says theres no doubt that the UNFCCC was a watershed, showing the world that Bali can successfully host a conference of vital importance to the world community.
To be truthful, the size of the UNFCCC somewhat exceeded the carrying capacity of Balis MICE infrastructure, so over-dominating the landscape that tour operators, attractions, and local shops beyond the Nusa Dua area went relatively quiet during the period of the conference itself. Mind you, were not complaining.
Whats refreshing is that Bali itself and the rest of the world will now think of the Climate Change Conference whenever the name Bali is mentioned. Balis been laboring much too long under the unjustified yoke of terrorism branding; whereas the conference will go a long way in explaining that our island is as safe as anywhere else in this post-modernist world.
Most encouraging, the MICE industry is playing an increasingly larger role in Balis tourism future. Just weeks before the start of the UNFCCC the Grand Hyatt opened a massive Ballroom capable of hosting, in addition to the Bali International Convention Center, large scale conferences and meetings in Bali.
The overall design of the newly opened 40 hectare Bali Safari & Marine Park is also taking into account the needs and possibilities of the MICE market. The final design there will include a 1,500 person state-of-the-art performance center, underwater conference rooms surrounded by marine life, and almost limitless theme party options.
The Director of Sales & Marketing InterContinental Bali Resort, Ms Suzette Deveau, says the UNFCCC event has definitely put Bali back in the spotlight and there has been an extremely positive response from international MICE planners since early 2007.
I think that there has always been an awareness of Balis potential and the Australian MICE market is just a little slow to rebound. The Australian leisure travellers are now returning, so demand is back.
In fact we now have some potential leads from Australia for events to be scheduled during 2008. We will also be attending the AIME show in February in Melbourne.
In addition, hosting Australias new Prime Minister, Mr. Kevin Rudd, at the Heads of State Meeting (at the UNFCCC) was a great opportunity for the resort. It was an encouraging sign for MICE planners in Australia to trust our capabilities and security standards.
We also had the pleasure to host several meetings, including events for the Ministry of Finance attended by representatives from 44 countries, Ministry of Trade with 30 participating countries and The Heads of State Meeting, which involved six countries. This was an opportunity to emphasize the quality of our meeting facilities and level of security.
Garuda Indonesias Mr Poerwoko says overall traffic to Bali has risen by more than 50 per cent over the past year, demonstrating a rising confidence in Australia towards Bali and a realisation of the superb quality and value of its offerings.
Garuda Indonesia flies 27 times from Australia to Bali per week (23 times direct to Bali, plus 4 times a week via Jakarta) with flights departing from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin.
For bookings and enquiries call Garuda Indonesia on 1300 365 331, see your local travel agent, or visit
www.BalionANYbudget.com.auThe General Manager of the InterContinental Bali Resort, Mr Kamal Chaoui, welcomes Australias Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd on December 13th Mr Kamal Chaoui also welcomed the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr Ban Ki-moon to the Resort.
BICC conference venue caters for Indonesias largest ever MICE event
The UNFCCC conference, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, took place in the Bali International Convention Centre situated in the self-contained resort area of Nusa Dua, just 10 km from the Ngurah Rai International Airport. The BICC is also connected through an air-conditioned shopping arcade with The Westin Resort (the main hotel for the venue) and surrounded by some of Bali's finest five-star hotels and resorts (Ayodya Resort, Inna Putri Bali, Grand Hyatt, Melia Bali, The Laguna Resort & Spa, and Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa).
The Convention Centre features a main hall which seats 2,500 and an auditorium seating 506. Eight additional function rooms, four of which divide, provide meeting space of 3,490 square meters in total. Some of the Centre's outstanding facilities include fully integrated satellite, telecommunications and media systems, professional in-house staging, simultaneous multi-language translation and state-of-the art audio visual and presentation facilities.
To accommodate the largest conference ever held in Indonesia, several large tents were raised outside the convention center to accommodate the need for additional meeting spaces, media and logistics centers. Additionally, the Westin tennis courts were transformed into four meeting spaces each catering to 150-300 people. The indoor exhibition space was used as the UN Service Center and both Nusa Indah Hall and Nusantara Ballroom were dedicated as the Plenary Halls 1 and 2.
For the day to day operation five coffee points were set up around the BICC area to cater for an average of 8,000 delegates and participants every day. The six Westin restaurants served approximately 1,000 people each day.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol, on December 11th a casual cocktail arrangement with the tranquil Indian Ocean as a backdrop was set up at the Westin beachfront swimming pool area as the venue catering to over 1,000 UNFCCC delegates.
The Conference of the Parties (COP-13) successfully commenced on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 with an opening statement by Mr. Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary for the UNFCCC followed by a speech from UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon and the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Heads of state from Australia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Grenada, Palau and Maldives had the opportunity to deliver their messages as well. The opening ceremony finished with the presentation of a song personally written by Mr. Yudhoyono titled Save Our Planet.
On Thursday, December 13, 2007, a high-level ministerial lunch was held in the grandeur of the Westin Bali lobby. The luncheon was hosted by Mr. Yvo de Boer and attended by 275 VIP guests who enjoyed the set menu created by the Westin Food and Beverage team especially for this occasion. That same evening the 2007 Nobel Peace prize winner, Mr. Al Gore, addressed 1,200 delegates and participants sharing his passion and vision about global warming issues while at the same time encouraging everyone to take part in establishing a global carbon emission reduction plan.There were over 400 meetings held in the convention center throughout the event and as a result final compromises were reached leading to a Bali Roadmap for continued negotiations to a global consensus on reducing carbon emissions.
Located about 15 kilometers away from Jogjakarta, this Hindu temple was built in the 9th century. Sometimes Prambanan is called Loro Jonggrang. There's a legend involved, concerning Loro Jonggrang. Many, many years ago, so they say, lived a beautiful and haughty princess called Loro Jonggrang. Many people wish to marry her but she always refused, setting impossible tasks for her suitors to perform. One day, a noble told Loro Jonggrang that he'd like to marry her. Loro Jonggrang agreed, in one condition: he had to built one thousand temples during the night. The man had extraordinary powers, so he did not even flinch upon hearing this. Loro Jonggrang watched in horror at this man's ability. The noble managed to build one temple and then another, efficiently and quickly. Loro Jonggrang did not want to get married, so she cunningly roused the roosters to crow before dawn. That way, the man would lose the bargain. When the roosters crowed, the man had finished building 999 shrines. Angry for being tricked, he turned Loro Jonggrang into a big statue and use it as an adornment for the 1,000th temple.
