Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has urged the Consulate General of China in Denpasar Hi Yinquan to inform Chinese tourists that the Island of the Gods is still safe to visit.
During Hu’s visit on Wednesday, Made explained that the recent volcanic activity at Mount Agung in Karangasem regency had led tourists to believe that the entire island was under a Level 4 emergency status.
In actuality, the status only applied to areas within an 8-kilometer radius of Mt. Agung’s crater, he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
And with regard to the closure of Ngurah Rai International Airport last month, the incident occurred only during Mt. Agung’s eruption and the airport has resumed operations, he added.
The governor assured Hu that both Bali’s officials and residents have prepared the necessary emergency equipment to use in the case of an eruption, and they fully understood the safety measures involved.
Hu, who will soon movie to Beijing, expressed his sympathy over Bali’s current tourism slump, which was the direct result of Mt. Agung’s recent rumblings.
He explained that the travel warning released by China’s was aimed at informing Chinese tourists about the possibility of an airport closure should Mt. Agung show signs of further volcanic activity.
However, he said that the travel warning had not stopped Chinese tourists from traveling to Bali.
Source & image: thejakartapost
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