Indonesia Closes Tourist Offices

Reflecting the seriousness of Asia’s financial crisis, Indonesia is closing all its tourist offices, including its Los Angeles branch, its only office in North America, officials said.

Chilman Arisman, consul for economics and information at the Indonesian Consulate in Los Angeles, said the Indonesian Tourist Promotion Office here, which had five employees, shut down last month due to “a limited budget.” Tourist inquiries are now being handled by the consulate (telephone [213] 383-5126), which cut its own staff from 30 to 24 earlier this year. One service loss: no 1998 brochures, except for events calendars.

The unfavorable foreign-exchange rate has made it expensive for Indonesia to operate overseas outposts, including its other tourist offices in Frankfurt, Germany; London; Singapore; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Arisman said. Most tourist functions are moving into embassies or consulates, he added.

Indonesia, especially the island of Bali, has been a prime tourist site. The nation normally attracts about 5 million visitors a year, including more than 200,000 from North America, who pump more than $6 billion into the economy.

In another blow, luxury Windstar Cruises has canceled plans for 46 sailings next year in Southeast Asia, including port calls in Bali, Singapore and Phuket, Thailand. Instead, its 148-passenger Wind Star will move to Costa Rica and the Caribbean. In March, Garuda Indonesia Airlines suspended Los Angeles-Bali flights, its only service from North America.