Come to Fiji and be yourself says Pacific Island nation after Indonesia law change

Bali’s pain could be Fiji’s gain, with the island nation ready to welcome holiday-makers put off by Indonesia’s bizarre sex ban.

Fiji is hoping Australians disenchanted with strict new laws in Indonesia with give Bali a miss and head to the Pacific island nation instead.

When Fiji Airways chief executive Andre Viljoen heard the news about Indonesia’s bizarre ban on sex outside marriage, his first thought was “Oh, thank you”.

 

After years of being the underdog to Bali – Australians’ favourite international holiday destination – Fiji is enjoying record numbers of visitors from across the Pacific.

In fact, Fiji Airways’ forward bookings through to May are 35 per cent ahead of 2019 levels, and Mr Viljoen suggested Bali’s pain was almost certain to be their gain.

“If you take the outbound travel out of Australia, Bali does get the lion’s share,” Mr Viljoen said.

“So when we heard news (of the sex ban) I got very excited. I said ‘Oh, thank you very much – a bonus’.”

Like Bali, Fiji has relied heavily on Australian tourists, who have accounted for 53 per cent of all ­overseas visitors since the borders ­reopened just over a year ago.

Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill said the island nation had always had a good reputation among Australians, who had been travelling to the South Pacific ­nation for a “long, long time”.

“I think tourists are looking to travel to places where they want to make sure they’re safe and can get home safely,” Mr Hill said, when asked about Indonesia’s new law.

“Tourists can come here and be themselves and then go back home,” he added.

With the new law not expected to be enforced for three years, travel agents and airlines were yet to see any strong reaction from customers in the form of cancellations. However, Indonesia Institute founder Ross Taylor said it was almost impossible to imagine how the law would not hurt tourism at a time when Bali was just getting back on its feet. “Bali managed Covid very well, and they’re recovering quite strongly … but this puts a cloud over that. People will start to worry,” he said.

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief Dean Long shared Mr Taylor’s concerns, and said he had written to the Indonesian ­ambassador seeking clarification about the law’s implementation.

“We want to ensure Australians can still have confidence in what remains a favoured holiday destination,” Mr Long said.

While the Indonesian government and Bali tourism operators have been talking down the effect of the laws, Asri Kerthyasa – a Bali-based Australian restaurateur – said news of the draconian changes were already affecting the island’s tourism sector.

“People are cancelling their trips to Bali left, right and centre,” Ms Kerthyasa told The Australian. “They’re saying: ‘We are not going there now. We will go to Thailand. Bali is finished for me.’

“All our restaurateurs and hoteliers are pretty worried but everyone is being pretty careful what they say because we don’t want to inflame the situation.”

Ms Kerthyasa said she believed the risk to tourists had been exaggerated given only a parent, child or spouse can report an offender.

“That’s what’s worrying us … the media blowing it up and not reading the fine print,” she added.

Claire Leighton, an Australian technology company founder living and working in Bali, said Indonesia’s decision to criminalise sex and cohabitation before marriage was a clear concern “because if I had been here with my partner, that was us in a nutshell”.

She said the new laws would not necessarily stop her from working in Bali but it would be a consideration in the future.

Meanwhile, Mr Hill said Fiji was more than ready to pick up any travellers rethinking their Bali holiday plans, and he stressed the country had plenty of space.

Mr Viljoen was also keen to ­accommodate Australians looking for alternative destinations.

He said he was proud of the fact that Fiji Airways’ fares were set below those being charged by larger ­rivals Qantas and Air New Zealand, which gave the much smaller airline “an advantage in terms of demand”.