Bali: back in business

by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer on Wednesday, 28 November 2007

The Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) in the self-contained, upmarket Nusa Dua district of Bali is located within walking distance of a range of five-star hotels, beaches, shops and other services.

After five years of natural and man-made catastrophes that have all but wiped out Bali's tourism industry, it seems the island is finally back in business.

Several major events of 1000 delegates plus, including the recent PATA Travel Mart ‘07 have been held in the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) in the last 12 months and Bali is set to host the UN Climate Change Conference from December 3 to 14 this year, which will be attended by some 10,000 delegates.

Basically the message is that Bali is as safe as anywhere else.

The new influx of business and leisure tourism is testament to the irresistible appeal of the island.

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"There were some cancellations of international events after the Bali bombing in 2002, but the government of Indonesia encouraged national events to be held in Bali to fill up these gaps," explained Ika Nazaruddin, public relations manager of Jakarta-based Pacto Convex, one of Indonesia's leading MICE organisers.

"I can say that business in Bali is now getting back to normal and reaching the position it was at prior to the bombing."

Bali Government Tourism Office's head of cooperation and promotion section, Ngurah Ambara, concurred, revealing that visitor arrivals for the January to August 2007 period exceeded those in the same period in 2002, just prior to the first Bali bombings.

"We have seen a huge increase in the number of people coming to Bali since 2004; we have seen a 130% increase in the number of visitors from China alone," he explained.

"Basically the message is that Bali is as safe as anywhere else. We have had incidents in London, Madrid and Bangkok in the last five years - it could happen anywhere."

Nestled in-between Java and Lombok, Bali offers a warm and sunny environment for most of the year, although torrential downpours can send people running for shelter during the rainy season (from November to April).

But thanks to the close-knit layout of Nusa Dua, the secure enclave encompassing BICC and the surrounding hotels and services, delegates are unlikely to be caught out in the rain.

BICC itself has more than 5000m^² of exhibition space, with two interior exhibition areas of 1350m² each, 2000m² of outdoor exhibition space and a 2500 capacity conference hall.

Recent large-scale events held at the venue include the PATA Travel Mart in September (1500 delegates), the BON ORDI (Bali Japan Club) in October 2006 (2500 delegates), the 17th Regional Conference on Dermatology (1000 delegates), and the World Tobacco Asia Conference Exhibition (1340 delegates).

Nusa Dua is home to many of Bali's luxury hotels, all of which have their own conference centres and meetings facilities, as well as a range of top-end dining, spa, golf and shopping options, including an 18-hole golf course and The Bali Collection, and mini-mall full of high-end shops.

Five-star hotels within walking distance of BICC include The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, the Laguna Beach Resort and Spa, the Grand Hyatt Bali, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa, Novotel Nusa Dua, Melia Bali Villas & Spa Resort, Inna Putri Bali, Ayodya Resort Bali, and the Nikko Bali Resort and Spa, offering more than 3000 five-star rooms between them.

The entire Nusa Dua area was developed in a location that was largely uninhabited before the arrival of tourism, allowing developers to contain all the new projects in a secure area, accessible by just four highly secure entrances, two of which are now closed down.

"It is a totally independent enclave in Bali and totally secure, which is one of our marketing points, especially with what has happened in the past," said Jan Bundgaard, general manager, Bali International Convention Centre and the Westin Resort, Nusa Dua, Bali.

"People feel safe here; for large corporations and government functions this is a highly valued selling point and a necessity if you want to attract business of that calibre to a destination."

But according to Bundgaard, it is Bali's position as the only beachfront resort convention centre in Southeast Asia, combined with the cultural experience of the island that makes it unique.

"You can have quite a unique experience here, combining business with the Balinese culture, which puts a totally different edge on a MICE experience," he explained.

"It's not just another city convention centre. It has a very strong flavour of Balinese and Hindu culture, and that is something we really push. It's very attractive for incentives because there is so much you can do; white water rafting, Balinese cuisine lessons, temples, dances and ceremonies, the rice paddies - there is so much you could develop."

Bali is served by a recently launched service from Doha courtesy of Qatar Airways, via Kuala Lumpur, but other Middle East carrier options include flying with Emirates or Etihad Airways to Jakarta and hopping onto a connecting flight to Bali.

The new Qatar Airways flight presents Bali's tourism industry with the opportunity to develop the Middle East as a source market for both leisure and business tourism, according to Bundgaard.

"We have nothing coming through from the Middle East in terms of the MICE business yet, but with Qatar Airways flying here there are great opportunities," he said.

"We are currently looking at what we can do for FITs, because they are very strong going into Malaysia, so perhaps Bali would be of interest to them too?"

Alternatively, visitors could fly with Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific or Royal Brunei, from several destinations in the Middle East to their respective hubs, before getting a connecting flight to Bali.

Island adventures

The highlight of any major event in Bali for delegates is the opportunity to explore the rest of the island in post event tours.

Despite its convenience as a destination for events and high-end resort holidays, Nusa Dua offers little of the "true Bali" that can be found in the interior.

After an event, delegates with a few days to spare could explore the shopping, beaches and nightlife of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, just 40 minutes away from the resort by taxi; take a tour to some of Bali's major Hindu temples such as Pura Tanah Lot, where hoards of tourists gather every evening to watch the magnificent orange sunsets that Bali is famous for; or visit Bali's cultural capital Ubud, where visitors can relax amid lush rice paddies, choose from an abundance of spa treatments, or take a trip to the Sacred Monkey Forest.

The more adventurous visitors might want to extend their trip and take a few days' holiday to explore more of the island - suggest hiring a car or motorcycle and driving north to one of Bali's towering volcanoes and spending a night in a town in the mountains like Munduk, before heading out to the east or west to explore fishing villages and black sandy beaches around Bali's extensive coastline.

The sales pitch

Mice facilities at Nusa Dua

Bali International Convention Centre (BICC): BICC's recently renovated Nusa Indah Hall is the largest in Bali, seating 2500 theatre style or 1200 in classroom style, with a 10-metre ceiling.

The centre also includes an auditorium with seating capacity for 506 visitors, and eight additional function rooms, four of which divide into smaller sections, providing meetings space totalling 3490m².

Event planners can make use of video-conferencing and teleconferencing facilities, professional in-house staging, simultaneous multi-lingual translation and state-of-the-art audiovisual and presentation equipment.

The centre features a total of 5000m² of exhibition space, including two interior exhibition areas of 1350m² each, and 2000m² of outdoor exhibition space.

Hotels

The Westin Resort:

• 15 meetings rooms, most of them offering natural daylight.

• Part of the same complex as BICC.

• 2700m^² of exhibition space.

• Exclusive bonded warehouse for storage and kit.

•Largest ballroom in Bali.

• Built-in and portable Simultaneous Interpreter System.

• 10-metre ceiling Nusa Indah Hall.

• Secretariat offices.

• Ballroom foyer air-conditioned with natural lighting.

Laguna Beach Resort and Spa:

• Recently refurbished 722m² Grand Ballroom that can be divided into three separate meetings spaces and can accommodate groups of between 12 and 600 delegates.

• All rooms feature an independent or coordinated kinetic intelligent lighting system to suit colour themes according to the needs of different events.

• Swarovski-crystal droplets highlight the ceilings and technical presentation systems and stages are available.

• Three breakout rooms are available for small meetings, including the Summer Garden Boardroom, which offers natural daylight and a view over the resort's landscaped gardens.

• A 37-metre by 7-metre pre-function area overlooks the Cascade Terrace, an alternative venue for al fresco events or cocktail receptions.

•Dedicated events coordinator and conventions services team.

Grand Hyatt Bali:

• Separate conference centre with 25 naturally lit meetings rooms plus a grand ballroom that can seat 1000 for dinner and 1400 auditorium-style with indoor and outdoor pre-function areas.

• Two boardrooms cater to small groups of six to 12 people.

• Standard meeting room features include ceiling border lights along the full length of the room, full lighting dimmer systems, a permanent roll-down screen, whiteboards and sound systems.

• Other rooms can be configured in a range of style to accommodate almost any size of function.

Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa:

• Seven function rooms, including a 404m² ballroom that can accommodate 450 for a cocktail reception.

• All rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and Wi-fi internet access.

• Four open air reception areas that can accommodate up to 3000 delegates for a cocktail reception.

Melia Bali Villas & Spa Resort:

•Puri Bali the main function hall can accommodate up to 400 people for a cocktail reception and up to 350 people for a round table set-dinner or buffet.

• The pool side area can cater to up to 500 people for a set dinner or buffet.

•Seven additional meetings rooms can accommodate groups of between 10 and 300 people.

Ayodya Resort Bali:

• 14 adaptable meetings rooms including a Grand Ballroom accommodating up to 700 for a cocktail reception and the Samudra Room for up to 600.

• The smaller rooms can handle between 20 and 70 delegates.

Nikko Bali Resort and Spa:

• Eight meetings rooms, five of which can combine to form the Graha Sawangan ballroom accommodating up to 600 guests for conferences.

• 192m^² pre-function area.

• A selection of outdoor reception areas that can cater to banquets of up to 500.

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