The United States lifts its travel warning to Indonesia
Yes, a good news for Indonesian tourism. Starting from May 23, 2008, the travel warning released by The US govt had been lifted. What does the travel warning said, anyway. According to The United States Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs:
This Travel Warning updates information concerning the security situation in Indonesia and urges American citizens to evaluate carefully the risks of travel to that country. This Travel Warning supersedes the January 9, 2007. Travel Warning for Indonesia.
Due to the possibility of terrorist attacks directed against American or other Western citizens and interests, the Department of State urges American citizens to evaluate carefully the risks of travel to Indonesia. The October 1, 2005, terrorist attacks in Bali, in which suicide bombers killed 20 people and injured more than 100, are a reminder that terrorists remain active in Indonesia. Similarly, during the three prior years, there were three significant terrorist attacks in Indonesia, two in Jakarta and one in Bali. During 2007, the Indonesian police and security forces disrupted a number of cells linked with Jemaah Islamiyah, a U.S. Department of State-designated foreign terrorist organization. The existence of additional cells intending to carry out future attacks in Bali, Jakarta, or other areas of Indonesia cannot be ruled out.
This decision — travel warning lift — were taken because of the improvement of security situation in Indonesia. As another note, this year (2008), Indonesia has a tourism program called Visit Indonesia Year 2008. The government of Indonesia set a target to bring 7 millions tourists to Indonesia. Let’s see the results later.
Read more about this news at USAToday.com.