Indonesia Opens Up, say Jetabroad

SYDNEY, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

-Australia lowers travel warning to Bali in Indonesia, opening the area to more leisure, study and business travel-

Leading online travel company, Jetabroad, welcomes news that the Australian government has lowered the advisory for travel to Bali in Indonesia. In 2002 the government raised the advisory level to "reconsider the need to travel", second-highest on a scale of four. It has now dropped the alert to the second-lowest level, "exercise a high degree of caution", which puts Bali at the same level as the Philippines and Thailand. The move has been welcomed by businesses, travel associations and schools in both Australia and Indonesia.

Australians currently account for over 26 per cent of inbound travel to the Indonesian island of Bali, and Jetabroad expect to see this number rise with the announcement. Travel will also be more accessible due to the strength of the Australian dollar and the high availability of cheap flights to Bali and the rest of Indonesia. Many Indonesian language programs expect to resume educational trips and anticipate an increase in the number of students taking up the language.

Greg Moriarty, Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, told Indonesian news agency Antara: "This a positive development based on a carefully considered assessment of the level of threat to Australian travellers in Indonesia." Central Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua and West Papua still fall under the higher advisory level, but the rest of the country's threat has lessened. This includes popular tourist areas which are well served by cheap flights to Indonesia, including Bali, Sumatra and Jakarta.

Indonesia's diverse landscapes and cultures are very popular with tourists and students, and the modern bustle of Jakarta is rich with business opportunities. There are over 13,000 islands in Indonesia, which offer a huge range of experiences; Bali's beaches, coral reefs, and volcanoes form an interesting contrast to Sumatra's jungles and wildlife and Java's modern metropolis and ancient monuments.

Jetabroad MD Darin Walters comments: "Indonesia is one of the world's most beautiful destinations, and we are excited to see that the situation in Bali is much safer today than it was in 2002 and 2005. We hope that Australians will take advantage of the improved security and strong Australian dollar to open new channels of education, exchange and travel with Indonesia."

About Jetabroad.com.au:

Jetabroad (http://www.jetabroad.com.au/) is a Sydney-based, global online flight specialist and travel agency. The best flight options are just a click away with the ability to search, combine and ticket over 450 of the world's commercial airlines. Jetabroad's unique flight search technology allows for bookings in multiple currencies from anywhere, to anywhere else in the world. All inclusive pricing is displayed upfront in Jetabroad's flight results - no extra charges or credit card fees are added at the end of the booking process when completing your online payment.

Based in Chatswood in Sydney's northern suburbs Jetabroad is led by an executive team with extensive international experience in both offline and Internet-based travel and consumer marketing. Supported by a highly skilled team of online professionals and travel consultants they offer an exceptional customer experience at a competitive price.

For more information and great deals become a fan of Jetabroad on Facebook or follow @Jetabroad.

SOURCE Jetabroad