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Japanese travel agencies start revamped Bali tours

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, center, visits the site of the Oct. 12 bomb blasts on Bali, yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

JTB Corp, Japan's biggest travel agency, and two rivals resumed selling package tours to Bali, two weeks after halting sales because of the Oct. 12 blast on the island resort that killed at least 190.

JTB, Nippon Travel Agency Co and JALPAK, a unit of Japan Airlines Co, began booking tours to Bali today, more than a week later than planned, after investigations by the Japan Association of Travel Agents showed police increased security at hotels, restaurants and other areas.

"Our investigation team reported Bali seemed to restore peace," said Nippon Travel spokesman Norio Torigoe. "Security looks tighter."

In the first half of the year, the Japanese represented 21 percent of all foreign direct arrivals to Bali by air, Bali Tourism Authority statistics show. The Japanese government kept its travel advisory short of listing the island as "dangerous," said Anak Agung Gede Rai, spokesman of the Bali Tourism Board, which represents private tourist interests.

Japan Airlines, which merged under Japan Airlines System Corp with smaller rival Japan Air System Co this month, has said the suspension of package tours would lead to a 20 percent fall in bookings on Bali flights from Japan this month.

"It was a very popular destination before the attack," said JTB spokesman Hiroshi Ueno. "It shouldn't take long for demand to recover to the same levels we saw before the attack."
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