BREAKING: Bali airport to start welcoming foreign travelers on Oct. 14

Indonesia has set a specific date for the reopening of Bali to international travelers, as one of the country’s top officials announced this afternoon that the province’s airport will start welcoming foreign visitors on Oct. 14.

The long-awaited announcement came from Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who stressed that foreign visitors must quarantine for a minimum of 8 days upon arrival, and are expected to show proof of hotel booking for this purpose, among other requirements.

“There are several countries we will be open to: South Korea, China, Japan, [United Arab Emirates], and also New Zealand,” Luhut said during a virtual press conference.

Further details have yet to be announced at this point, but as have been the case with previous major announcements regarding COVID-19 restrictions in Indonesia, they should be expected from other officials in the next few days.

During the press conference, Luhut also reminded Indonesians to refrain from “excessive euphoria” amid the loosening of restrictions, as the country’s COVID-19 numbers continue to decline.

Source - Coconuts

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#Indonesia - Govt seeks to create ‘travel bubbles’ to help tourism recover

The government is seeking to create “travel bubbles” with China, South Korea, Japan and Australia, which are known for their achievements in handling the COVID-19 outbreak, as the nation enters its so-called new normal period.

The term “travel bubble”, or “travel corridor”, refers to an agreement in which countries succeeding in containing the outbreak open their borders to each other to allow free movement within the bubble.

The Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister’s undersecretary for tourism and the creative economy, Oto Manuhutu, said his office was discussing the matter with the Foreign Ministry as well as the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry.

“The four countries were chosen because many tourists and foreign investors in Indonesia come from those countries,” Oto said on Friday, as quoted by Antara.

Despite the plan, he added that business-people would probably be the first and only ones to travel to and from those countries in the near future. “Hopefully, tourists will gradually follow to visit [Indonesia] after the investors.”

Oto went on to say that the Foreign Ministry was discussing the requirements for travel bubbles before signing agreements with the four countries.

“The travel bubbles would open two to four weeks after the agreements are signed while taking into consideration health, security and technical aspects,” said Oto.

Experts have said that the government’s move to ease COVID-19 restrictions might worsen conditions, as the country has yet to reach its peak in the epidemiological curve.

Source - TheJakartaPost

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Indonesia - Bali named among top post-pandemic destinations

Bali is among the international destinations such as Andalusia and Catalonia in Spain, as well as Florida in the United States, listed as the most desirable places to visit after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The travel industry has been one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, but travelers around the world have also been eager to get back on the proverbial road and visit new holiday destinations.

Dutch online ticketing company Booking.com has recorded growing wishlists on its app, listed by people in quarantine around the world in March and April.

On the list, Bali ranks second among the most desirable tourist destinations.

The island is listed along with international destinations such as Andalusia and Catalonia in Spain, as well as Florida in the United States. Krasnodar Krai in Russia tops the list.

In a statement, Booking.com said the list was based on the number of likes for properties listed on the app.

The data was compiled in March and April and compared to similar data in March and April 2019.

Alongside Bali, there are 27 Indonesian destinations on the list, such as West Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and West Java.

The list also revealed that Indonesian users on the app are hesitant to plan international journeys after the pandemic.

Around 76 percent of Indonesian users’ wishlists comprise domestic destinations in sunny cities and places with beaches, such as Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and Ubud and Seminyak in Bali.

Meanwhile, international destinations are dominated by Asian metropolitans, such as Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.

On Saturday, Reuters reported that Bali could reopen to tourists in October, following the government's success in controlling the coronavirus outbreak. If the infection curve continues to improve, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry is looking to revitalize destinations and do promotional work for some parts of the country, including Bali, between June and October.

Source - #TheJakartaPost

Indonesia - Borobudur, Prambanan temples to reopen in June

Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko temples in Central Java will be reopened for tourists in June after the popular tourists destinations were closed for the past three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We plan to reopen the temples on June 8,” said Edy Setijono, director of PT Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko, as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the reopening of the temples would comply with the COVID-19 protocols suggested by the government, in particular by the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry.

“When the temples are reopened, they will be run in accordance with the 'new normal' tourism,” Edy said.

He said that the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry had recommended tourist destinations implement a “cleanliness, health and safety” (CHS) program.

“This program is crucial as the pandemic has changed our habits. The public now cares more about cleanliness, health and safety, including in tourism,” he said.

In compliance with the protocols, the management of the temples will require visitors to wear face masks and go through temperature check posts. They will also be required to practice physical distancing.

“We will provide hand washing stations every 100 meters as well as signage and information boards explaining the COVID-19 protocols,” Edy said.

To reduce interactions between visitors and staff, the management will use cashless ticketing.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Tropical Bali looking to reopen to tourists in October

Indonesia's tropical holiday island of Bali could reopen to tourists in October, thanks to its success in controlling the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Friday.

As of Friday, Bali had reported 343 coronavirus cases and four deaths, a much lower fatality rate compared with 16,496 cases and 1,076 deaths in the whole archipelago.

If the infection curve continued to improve, the tourism ministry is looking to revitalize destinations and do promotional work for some parts of the country, including Bali, between June and October, Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani, secretary of the ministry, said in the statement.

Partial reopening of those areas, which also include the city of Yogyakarta and Riau islands province, may begin in October, she said.

Bali's economy depends largely on visitors. Its gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 1.14 percent on-year in January-March, compared with a 2.97 percent GDP expansion nationally.

Foreign tourist arrivals into Indonesia plunged more than 60 percent in March, compared to the year-earlier month, with Chinese arrivals sliding more than 97 percent  

Source - TheJakartaPost

Strong 6.5 magnitude quake strikes eastern #Indonesia

AMBON CITY, Indonesia: A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit off the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia Thursday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The quake struck about 37 kilometres northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at 8:46 am local time, at a depth of 29 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in the area, which has been rocked by strong quakes in the past.

"I was asleep with my family when suddenly the house started to shake," said an AFP reporter in Ambon.

"The quake was really strong. We ran from our house and saw the neighbours fleeing too. Everybody was panicking."

Multiple aftershocks have rippled across the area, he added.

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Initial reports said the quake struck offshore, but later analysis found it hit onshore, raising the potential for damage, according to Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency.

Local disaster agency head Oral Sem Wilar called for calm.

"People were panicking and started to evacuate in some places, but we are trying to tell them there's no need to panic because there's no tsunami threat," he told AFP.

"We are still checking on damage and any casualties."

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

In August, five people died and several were injured after a powerful undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia's heavily populated Java island.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

The force of the impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled by liquefaction -- a process where the ground starts behaving like a liquid and swallows up the earth like quicksand.

Nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation nearly a year after the double disaster, the Red Cross said this week.

On Boxing Day 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.

Source - Bangkok Post

#Indonesia - Government to boost sustainable tourism in small villages

Tangkahan village near Mount Leuser in North Sumatra and Pemuteran village in Bali are two of many villages in Indonesia that offer unique ecotourism attractions. 

They can set an example for other villages across the country to develop sustainable tourism as envisaged by the government during a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) meeting recently.

Tourists could enjoy ecotourism activities in Tangkahan such as jungle trekking and elephant riding, said Valerina Daniel, the head of the Tourism Ministry’s sustainable tourism acceleration team. 

“In this village, people who used to be illegal loggers are now part of developing the tourism village by offering packages to tourists, which helps to preserve the forests,” she said in Jakarta recently.

Tourists visiting Pemuteran, which is known as a fishing village where residents are active in marine conservation, can go diving and snorkeling while participating in activities like coral conservation and feeding turtles. 

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said after the UNWTO meeting that the ministry wanted to create 2,000 tourism villages by the end of this year, an increase from the 1,734 created last year.

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 The program, managed in conjunction with the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry, is part of the government’s commitment to accelerate sustainable tourism.  

 According to UNWTO guidelines released in 2005, sustainable tourism should take full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impact while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, environment and host community.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Regulation No. 14/2016 stipulates that sustainable tourism should empower local communities, preserve culture and conserve the environment.

Valerina said the development of tourism villages would be focused around the 10 priority destinations, or 10 New Balis, adding that the development was a sustainable tourism model that suited Indonesia, which has 75,000 villages across the archipelago.

“There are many villages in Indonesia and a village is the smallest instrument where we can directly empower the community by developing its potential while preserving its culture and environment based on the sustainable tourism principle,” she said.

He added that the development of the homestays and villages could be funded by state-owned enterprises’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

Another financing option would be using low-interest rate loans from banks with long-term maturity so that local players can thrive, Arief said. 

He added that the government would also establish more Sustainable Tourism Observatories (STOs) in seven locations, adding to the five existing STOs so far. The STOs monitor research and give recommendations to the local government on how to develop sustainable tourism.

The sustainable tourism program was a positive move for Indonesia, although it had yet to become the umbrella policy for general tourism development in the country, said Muhammad Baiquni, a tourism expert at Gadjah Mada University’s Center of Tourism Studies. 

“The sustainable tourism concept could be a good balancer for Indonesia’s tourism, which still tends to be quantity oriented instead of quality oriented,” added Baiquni. 

He, however, reminded the government to make sure that village tourism had a positive impact on society, culture and the environment, as well as putting local communities first so that sustainable tourism could be achieved. 

“Are the villagers benefitting and sovereign on their own land? Does tourism in the villages make their environment and socioeconomic situation better? All of these must be assessed.”

Baiquni suggested that the government should focus on creating tourism villages that were of high standards and sustainable, rather than setting a specific target for homestays and villages.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Indonesia - 'Sound of Humanity' seeks to put Lombok tourism back on track

A music festival is set to be held in Sangkareang Square in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), from Dec. 8 to 9 to help Lombok recover from the earthquakes that devastated the region earlier this year.

Organized jointly by the Mataram city administration as well as musicians and volunteers grouped under Bandini Production, the Mataram Jazz & World Music Festival 2018 also aims to entertain quake volunteers and help survivors move on from their traumatic experience.

"This event is also held to promote Lombok as a safe destination to visit," added the chairman of the organizing committee, Imam Sofian, at a press conference on Monday.

Some 100 local and national jazz musicians are scheduled to perform at the festival, which is themed "Sound of Humanity: Jazz Tribute for Humanity”.

“Initiated by artists, jazz musicians and volunteers, the event serves as a form of appreciation for the artists and volunteers who have done many things and helped the people of Lombok in the aftermath of the earthquakes,” said ...
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The artists, he said, had been volunteering by distributing aid, building temporary houses, providing trauma healing and other humanitarian activities for the earthquake survivors.

 “Even today they still continue helping the survivors. The reflection of their experience as volunteers motivates us to organize the event,” 

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 Among the musicians scheduled to participate in the festival include Jakarta-based artists Tohpati Ethnomission, Jason Ranti, Dua Drum, Cerita Fatmawati and Jazz Muda Indonesia feat. Agis Kania; as well as Astrid Sulaiman Quartet from Ubud, Sambava from Sumbawa, and Mataram-based musicians Ary Juliant, Sura Dipa, Jazz Double Quartet/Jadeq, Neo Decker, Pesawat Kertas, One & Flower, Don’t Tell Mom, and Pelita Harapan Jazz Project feat. JKR. 

 Slated to be held at Sangkarean city park, the event is part of the "Mataram MoveOn" campaign.

Mataram Deputy Mayor Mohan Roliskana said the earthquakes that hit the region from July 29 to Aug. 19 also affected Mataram, the provincial capital.

The earthquakes damaged houses, office buildings and other facilities. Even a month after the earthquakes hit, people in Mataram were still living in evacuation tents.

The "Mataram MoveOn" campaign aims to help survivors to return to their daily activities, as well as repair offices, schools and the region’s economy.

Source TheJakartaPost

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BREAKING NEWS: Contact lost with Lion Air plane, tugboat crew in Karawang 'see debris of plane'

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (Basarnas) received a report on Monday morning that air traffic control had lost contact with a Lion Air flight from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung.

A vessel traffic service officer in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Suyadi, told The Jakarta Post that at 6:45 a.m. he received a report from a tugboat, AS Jaya II, that the crew had seen a downed plane, suspected to be a Lion Air plane, in Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java. 

"At 7:15 a.m. the tugboat reported it had approached the site and the crew saw the debris of a plane," Suyadi said. As of 9 a.m. there was no report about passengers or the plane crew, he said.

Two other ships, a tanker and a cargo ship, near the location were approaching the site, he said, and a Basarnas rescue boat was also on the way.

Information gathered by the Post said that the plane, Lion Air 610, took off from Jakarta at 6:20 a.m. and contact was lost at 6:33 a.m.

  It’s understood the jet, flying from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung province, took off at around 6.20am Jakarta time (10.20am AEDT) on Monday but lost contact with air traffic control at 6.33am.

It is not yet clear how many passengers were on the flight. The Boeing-737 Max 8 plane is understood to have a maximum capacity of 175 people.

Source - TheJakartaPost
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Death toll in #Indonesia quake rises to 164

The death toll from a devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 160, an official said Thursday, as authorities urgently appealed for medicine, food and clean water for some 156,000 people displaced by the disaster.

Many frightened villagers are staying under tents or tarpaulins dotted along roads or in parched rice fields, and makeshift medical facilities have been set up to treat the injured.

Evacuees in some encampments say they are running out of food, while others are suffering psychological trauma after the powerful quake, which struck just one week after another tremor surged through the island and killed 17.

"The death toll rose to 164 people with at least 1,400 people seriously injured and 156,000 displaced," national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told AFP.

Tens of thousands of homes, businesses and mosques were levelled by the quake, which struck on Sunday as evening prayers were being said across the Muslim-majority island.

Local authorities, international relief groups and the central government have begun organising aid, but shattered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north of Lombok, which bore the brunt of the quake.

"We are still waiting for assessments from some of the more remote areas in the north of the island, but it is already clear that Sunday's earthquake was exceptionally destructive," 

Christopher Rassi, the head of a Red Cross assessment team on Lombok, said in a statement.

He estimated 75 percent of houses are damaged in some villages in east and north Lombok.

"There are still some evacuees that have not yet been touched by aid, especially in North Lombok and West Lombok," Nugroho tweeted Thursday.

Source - TheNation 

#Indonesia One fatality as earthquake hit Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani Sunday

The Mount Rinjani National Park management has revealed around 500 people, including 135 foreigners, are to be evacuated from the volcano area, which was hit by a landslide after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck West Nusa Tenggara on Sunday morning.

The 135 foreign tourists were trapped at Segara Anak Lake, a crater lake shaped like a crescent, in the area.

"There was one fatality," head of Region II of Mount Rinjani National Park Benediktus Rio Wibawanto said on Sunday night as reported by kompas.com, adding the victim, identified as Muhammad Ainul Taksin, 25, from Makassar, South Sulawesi, suffered head injuries.

(Read also: At least 14 killed in Lombok earthquake)

An evacuation team was sent out on Monday morning. The team comprises people from the Mount Rinjani National Park Agency, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the nature lovers community of the University of Mataram (Mapala Unram), and medics.

Source - TheNation

Indonesian woman swallowed by giant python

An Indonesian woman has been found in the belly of a giant python after the swollen snake was captured near where she vanished while tending her vegetable garden, police said Saturday.

The body of 54-year-old Wa Tiba was found Friday when villagers cut open the seven-metre (23-foot) python which was found bloated in the village of Persiapan Lawela on the island of Muna, offshore of Sulawesi.

"Residents were suspicious the snake swallowed the victim, so they killed it, then carried it out of the garden," said local police chief Hamka, who like many Indonesians has only one name.

"The snake's belly was cut open and the body of the victim was found inside."

Some 100 residents, including worried relatives, launched a search for the woman after she failed to return from her garden Thursday night.

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Hamka said villagers found the giant serpent lying about 30 metres from Tiba's sandals and machete, adding she was swallowed head first and her body was found intact.

The garden in which she disappeared was at the base of a rocky cliff, pockmarked by caves, and known to be home to snakes, Hamka added.

 

Giant pythons, which regularly top six metres, are commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines.

While the serpents have been known to attack small animals, attempts to eat people are rare.

In March last year, a farmer was killed by a python in the village of Salubiro on Sulawesi island.

Source - TheNation

Why #American tourists don't come to #Indonesia

Water Palace of Tirta Gangga in East Bali, Karangasem

 Over 75 million US citizens travel abroad each year. Only about 7 percent of them visit Asia, but that is still roughly 5 million people. But only a tiny percent of that number comes to Indonesia. Most of those who do come focus almost entirely on Bali, which has, of course, been the face of Indonesia for the international jet set for decades.

Most people I know back in Canada, where I’m from, and the US where I lived for 20 years, thought that “Bali” was a country – a picture-perfect tropical isle floating somewhere in the Pacific. The fact that Bali is part of a nation called Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population on the planet (right behind the US, in fact) would come as quite a shock to most North Americans.

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 There are some logical reasons for this lack of American interest in Indonesia as a vacation destination.  There are easy links between the US and many other Asian countries. Americans fought wars in Vietnam and Cambodia and welcomed large groups of refugees after those wars – families who now go back to their homelands regularly.  Our large military presence in the Philippines and Thailand established many natural links there and a significant amount of inter-marriage. Chinese immigrants helped to build the North American railroads and have always had a prominent place in our cultural heritage. And not only is there a large and very successful diaspora of Japanese immigrants in America, there is also a sophisticated taste for all things Japanese including architectural and garden design, Zen Buddhism, sushi (and Japanese food in general), martial arts, cult movies and literature.

Indonesia on the other hand has remained unknown. There are very, very few Indonesian immigrants in America. Apart from the movies The Year of Living Dangerously and the Bali-focused Eat, Pray, Love, (plus, of course, the tsunami of 2004), Indonesia simply doesn’t come up on the American radar.

There are also some serious negatives that have filtered through the global press, including what The Jakarta Post contributor Duncan Graham calls one of the country’s “self-inflicted wounds”:  “a cruel and illogical approach to the drug problem by maintaining the death penalty”.

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 Graham is right. It’s not that American tourists would be stashing drugs in their backpacks or Gucci bags. It’s that countries with a law this primitive and archaic seem to demand some kind of conscientious-objector status, even one as simple as picking a different place to holiday.

But this issue is probably not a deal breaker. Instead, when Americans do start exploring Indonesia online, or when the word spreads about a friend’s trip here, it is a series of pretty basic lifestyle issues that inevitably comes up to muddy the waters.

There is no doubt that getting around the country outside of the Bali infrastructure is challenging. The government’s proposed new digital tool, Travel X-Change Indonesia (TXI), should be a good start toward addressing this problem. There is also the well-publicized issue of local amenities.

The backpackers may be willing to accept hostel accommodation with no air conditioning and Indonesian-style bathroom facilities, but most older American travelers will not. So providing at least some “full-service” accommodation and, just as importantly, making them accessible online, is clearly one key to attracting this market.

 Another issue that bothers many actual or potential visitors from North America even more than these inconveniences is: the garbage. America recognized its litter problem back in the 1950s and anyone caught throwing anything on the ground in that country can face a stiff fine and be required to do community service.

It should come as no surprise then that American travelers are appalled and often disgusted by the garbage strewn around many Indonesian cities and towns. People here genuinely don’t seem to consider it a problem to toss refuse on the ground or in the rivers, or to wade through piles of garbage at the side of roads.

Much of the admiration and interest the Western traveler feels for the customs, the idiosyncrasies, the good humor and the warmth of the people dissipates at the sight and smell of the garbage. It is everywhere, and very few tourists pass through without noting it and spreading the word through online reviews and social media.

To put this in a global perspective, Singapore is king in terms of cleanliness, while India and Indonesia are pretty close to the bottom of the list.

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#Vietnam - 2018 rice export to hit 6m tonnes

HÀNỘI — Việtnam’s rice export volume in 2018 is expected to increase by 400,000 tonnes from 2017 to reach 6 million tonnes, due to increased demand from Southeast Asia, especially from the Philippines, with China expected to be the country’s largest rice market.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA), in a report earlier in January, said countries in Southeast Asia will import a large amount of rice from Việt Nam, helping boost the country’s turnover this year.

The VFA said Indonesia will import rice from Việt Nam and Thailand again in 2018 to increase reserves, as Indonesia’s rice price has been rising, almost double the floor price.

Similarly, the National Food Board of the Philippines approved of up to 250,000 tonnes of imported rice to offset declining inventories, due to unfavourable weather in 2017.

These developments are encouraging for Việt Nam’s rice export market, said the VFA’s report, with export price of 5 per cent broken rice rising to US$400 per tonne from $390.

Domestic rice price also increased, with the average price between to $267 to $293 per tonne as of January’s end, having increased by $13 to $15 per tonne from December 2017’s price.

According to the VFA’s data, throughout 2017, the country exported 5.7 million tonnes of rice worth $2.54 billion.

As mentioned by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s 2018 world rice production forecast, issued late 2017, the main factor behind this year’s rice trade expansion is increased output from Việt Nam, Pakistan and Myanmar, three of the world’s top six rice exporting countries.

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The USDA’s report stated that though 2017 global rice output fell by 20 per cent from 2016’s number, as a result of weak outlook for grain products, long, heavy rainfall and spring floods and other unfavourable weather, meaning there should be positive signals from traditional rice importing markets in Southeast Asia in early 2018.

In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whose rice crops were heavily influenced by harsh weather, demand for rice imports will also increase in 2018. Rising import demand is supported by increased purchasing power in Africa and the Middle East, while China continues to be a leading importer of rice from neighbouring regions.

As such, Việt Nam will witness an increase in revenue from rice exports to several large consumer markets.

According to the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in early January 2018, the Mekong Delta’s rice producers harvested 860,000 hectares of rice, with an average yield of 5.3 tonnes per hectare.

Nonetheless, problems remain for national rice production, the majority of which stem from farmers’ ignorance.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency during a late 2017 agricultural conference in the Mekong Delta, Võ Tòng Xuân, former vice rector of Cần Thơ University and rice expert, emphasised growing competition in global rice markets.

Xuân warned that Việt Nam needs to find ways to make its rice exports stand out if it wants to achieve export targets.

Regarding export rice quality, he was convinced that since rice merchants often mix different batches from different farmers into one large batch, there is virtually no way to completely track the origin of any batch.

Without clear origin, there are no certain product quality controls, and no major national rice brand for Việt Nam, Xuân added.

He suggested issuing contracts between rice farmers and processing plants for sustainable production, via agricultural co-operatives instead of relying on middlemen.

Xuân also said that there remain regulations acting as barriers to small and medium enterprises from entering the rice market. Exporting low quality rice and fragrant rice without a brand name is becoming increasingly difficult for Việt Nam, especially in finding niche markets to sell several thousand tonnes. 

 

Source - Vietnam News

Indonesia-Cambodia trade grows to $492M

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Indonesia amounted to $492.7 million in the first 11 months of last year, a 23 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016, according to a report from an Indonesian state-run news agency.

Indonesian Antara reported the growth in bilateral trade on Saturday, noting that Indonesia had invested primarily in the fields of culinary arts, housing, transportation and infrastructure improvements in Cambodia. The news came at the end of a three-day visit by Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn, who left Indonesia on Saturday.

How climate change threatens #Indonesia's marine #Tourism

While the Earth has only warmed around 0.74 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years, this small temperature increase is affecting ocean ecosystems and could impact upon the global marine tourism industry.

Coral reef tourism has a global value of US$36 billion per year, according to a scientific study mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism. This study, published in the Marine Policy journal in August 2017, concluded that 30 percent of the world’s reefs are valuable to tourism.

Indonesia has a thriving coral reef tourism industry and also has the second largest manta ray tourism industry in the world, with an annual value of over $15 million.

While coral bleaching events and ocean acidification are well-documented effects of climate change, there are other stressors upon coral reefs that could undermine these valuable tourism industries.

Sea level rises, leading to coastal erosion, plus stronger and more frequent storms typical of the current climate, smother and destroy coral reef structures. Heavy rainfall cause land-based pollutants and nutrients to wash into the ocean, resulting in algal blooms and a reduction in available light at reefs. Changing ocean currents also affect reefs, by altering the connectivity of geographically distant reefs and water temperature profiles. These changes can lead to a lack of food sources and interrupt reef species’ ability to breed.

If left unchecked, these complex effects could reduce the value of marine tourism significantly as the quality of world-class Indonesian dive sites and idyllic tourism destinations deteriorate.

Thankfully a new global partnership to conserve the ocean, announced at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Jan. 25, should help address this. This new partnership, Friends of Ocean Action, will consist of leaders in science, technology, business and non-governmental groups aiming to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Individuals can also do their part to minimize the effects of climate change by reducing their carbon footprint. Measures such as driving less, reducing waste and purchasing energy efficient appliances or light bulbs are easy ways to help. Indonesia’s coral reefs can be protected with simple measures such as using fewer garden chemicals that may run-off into the ocean, choosing sustainable seafood and practicing good reef etiquette.

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#Indonesia - Sabang, Aceh has a lot to offer for marine tourism

Weh Island is a paradise north of Sumatra. Sabang is located on the island.

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 When thinking about beach destinations in Indonesia, the top-of-mind places are usually Bali and Lombok. Rarely does the Sabang City in Aceh make it into the list of favorite places for underwater activities, while in reality the city actually has plenty to offer for marine tourism.

Take the Sail Sabang 2017 event, for example, it’s one of the highly anticipated events by the Tourism Ministry and will be held from Nov. 28 until Dec. 5 in Sabang.

The event will have 24 activities, among which include Sabang Underwater Contest, fishing competition and freediving competition.

The latter one is a form of underwater sports that relies on divers’ ability to hold their breath as long as they can until resurfacing.

The competition will run from Nov. 26 until Dec.1 and it has so far attracted 40 international diving athletes to participate.

To compete in this sport, the athletes need to spare some time ahead of the competition to prepare themselves.

“The competition is next week and they are already here, they need to train. You can’t reach a certain level of depth in short time, you need to adapt and do a survey,” explained Stanley Sradaputta, a freediving expert who assists divers in the event.

One of the early-comers is world-record holder William Trubridge from New Zealand. 

“I just finished my first training for Sail Sabang Freediving Competition, Sabang has a beautiful ocean,” said William.

During his first training, he managed to descend 90 meters down amid the nice weather. “Waves are great, the clarity of the water is good. The entire condition is exciting for us freedivers,” he added.

Through this freediving competition, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is pushing for freediving to be developed by the locals in Sabang. He saw that the seas in Sabang are beautiful and deep enough to do this kind of sports activity. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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Facebook to open office in Indonesia this month

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Leading social network provider Facebook will open an office in Jakarta later this month as part of the requirements for its operation in Indonesia, said Communications and Information Ministry director general of information applications Samuel Abrijani Pangerapan in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Samuel was speaking after meeting with Facebook representatives, Alvin Tan, head of public policy for Southeast Asia and Jeff Wu, trust and safety director for Asia Pacific. 

Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara also attended the meeting.

“The office will be opened as a permanent business entity in South Jakarta,” said Samuel as reported by kontan.co.id, adding that the office opening was one of the three agreements made during the meeting.

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Facebook will also establish specific business activities (KBLI) as required by the existing regulations for the type of business run by Facebook, Samuel said.

Facebook further expressed its commitment to deal with prohibited content on radicalism, terrorism and pornography, said the official.

Samuel added that Facebook would block all pornographic content for Indonesia users. “In other countries, they have several levels of pornographic content, but in Indonesia all pornographic content is prohibited,” he added. 

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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#Indonesia to import 75,000 tons of salt from #Australia

The government has issued an import permit for state-owned salt producer PT Garam to import 75,000 tons of raw salt material from Australia. The salt will enter Indonesia through three ports on Aug. 10.

"In 2016, we allocated 226,000 tons of salt imports, so we still have room. When the harvest returns to normal, we will stop importing," the Trade Ministry's foreign trade director general, Oke Nurwan, said in Jakarta on Friday.

He further said that the government would decide the price of table salt in the retailer market next week.

The ministry hopes that after the import is realized in August, the domestic supply of salt will gradually return to normal.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s director general for territorial sea management, Brahmantya Satyamurti, said the amount of domestic salt production was currently far from the normal production of 166,000 tons a month.

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“From May to July, salt farmers only managed to produce 6,200 tons, which is far from normal,” he said.

The Trade Ministry has ensured that salt distribution in the market will be tightly monitored by a food stability task force, which includes personnel from the police, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

Salt imports are regulated under the Law No. 7/2016 on the protection and empowerment of fishermen, fishers and salt farmers. It stipulates that import permits issued to PT Garam by the Trade Ministry requires a recommendation letter from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Jakarta shocked by deadly bombings days before Ramadhan.

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Only hours before Jakartans looked forward to enjoying the Ascension of Jesus Christ public holiday, a twin bomb attack struck the Kampung Melayu Transjakarta bus terminal on Wednesday night.

Two suspected suicide bombers died instantly, the police said.

At least five policemen who were escorting a traditional parade to welcome the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan also fell victim, three of whom are reported to have died. At least five civilians were also injured.

The terrorist attack took place while the world was still mourning the victims of the suicide bombing of the concert by US pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester, UK, only a day before.

The busy Transjakarta bus rapid transit hub in East Jakarta and the surrounding area descended into chaos after the explosions. The terminal is located in a densely populated area.

Footage and pictures of the scene have gone viral on social media. Some of the footage shows people panicking, screaming and running away from the terminal. Other images depict scattered body parts.

Traffic around the scene was blocked off and rerouted.

A police officer guards the bomb site at the Kampung Melayu bus station in East Jakarta. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said one explosion occurred at a motorcycle parking lot.

“The glass at the corridor seven [bus stop], where passengers alight, was smashed to pieces,” Transjakarta president director Budi Kaliwono said, adding that the Transjakarta service would continue, but would not stop at Kampung Melayu.

He added that no Transjakarta staff or passengers were among the casualties and urged members of the public to immediately report any suspicious activities.

The injured victims were treated at the Premier Hospital and Hermina Hospital in East Jakarta.

As of midnight, no claim of responsibility for the attack had been received.

Setyo said he was optimistic the police would be able to identify the perpetrators and any possible terrorist ring soon.

“The body parts [of the attackers] remain at the scene. The parts from the neck above are still intact so the face can be identified,” he said.

Mobile Brigade personnel from the Jakarta Police are deployed to the area nearby the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta following bomb blasts on Wednesday evening.(Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

The attack is believed to have been targeted at the police, making it the latest terror attack to have targeted the police in recent years.

On Jan. 14, 2016, Jakarta was rocked by multiple explosions, including one at a police post, and gunfire around the Sarinah shopping mall in Central Jakarta. At least eight people, including four attackers and four civilians, were killed. A total of 20 people were injured, including five police officers.

Setyo said the police had detected possible attacks in Jakarta. “We were not able yet to identify when or where [they might happen],” he said.

Setyo said the police suspected the perpetrators of the attack were related to terror groups behind other attacks in other countries, including the Manchester bombing.

#PrayForJakarta and #KamiTidakTakut (We are not afraid) emerged on the worldwide internet trending topic list immediately after the incident.

“Everyone, please stay safe! #PrayforJakarta,” Singer-songwriter Raisa posted on her twitter handle @Raisa6690, which has been retweeted by more than 1,000 users as of 1 a.m. on Thursday.

Source - TheNation