Bird flu could stall Bali's booming tourism industry

Date: 22/08/2007 15:00

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Bali's surging tourism industry could take a hit to its growth after the death of a Balinese woman was confirmed as being related to bird flu.

The announcement came as July tourism figures for the Indonesian island were reported as being the best on record.

According to site BaliDiscovery.com, over 164,000 visitors toured Bali in July of this year, a massive increase of 34.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

January to July of this year has seen almost one million arrivals in the island, an increase of 35 per cent on the year ago equivalent.

But the recent death of a Balinese citizen due to bird flu on August 13th, as recently confirmed by the World Health Organization, could affect the country's tourism growth at a time it was recuperating from a series of lean years.

Bombings in 2002, 2003 and 2004 had severely weakened tourism numbers to the islands, from which recent figures suggest it was beginning to recover.

Make sure to take full health precautions when out on holiday, and be appropriately covered with the right travel insurance, call or check online for a quote from InsureandGo.

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