InterContinental Bali Resort has appointed John P. Rees Jr. as its Director of Food and Beverage. Rees brings 25 years of culinary expertise to the Bali Resort and his assignment to revitalize all areas of the food and beverage operation.

An American national, Rees is a hands-on manager who strongly believes in the art of communication and teaching his teams an ultimate respect for food. It is not unusual to find him behind the counter demonstrating how to roll pizza dough or flitting between tables, interacting with guests while trying to accommodate all taste preferences.

A avid wine enthusiast, Rees is passionate about creating a global wine list to maintain the Resort's cosmopolitan edge. Appropriately, he is the driving force behind the Wine & Dine Festival 2008 set for February 9, 2008, providing guests with a culinary journey punctuated by fine wines from around the world.

A pet project that Rees has set for himself in Bali is exploring the feasibility of an oceanfront sustainable garden for the production of in-house produce.

Beginning his hospitality career in the early 1980s, Rees worked his way through the kitchen hierarchy to earn his first appointment a decade later as Executive Chef for The Ritz-Carlton St Louis, Missouri, followed by an assignment at The Peninsula Hotel in New York. It was at The Peninsula where he launched the internationally acclaimed Adrienne - a restaurant which was the recipient of numerous culinary accolades. A series of overseas appointments followed with Rees demonstrating his culinary mastery at the Sun International Bahamas, China World Hotel and Swissotel Nankai Osaka.

In 2004, he accepted an appointment as Director of Culinary Operations at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Pursuing his love of wine, he then moved to the role of Area Director of Sales/General manager for Summergate Fine Wines, positioning the company as the leading fine wine provider in Macau, China.

In his spare time Rees enjoys traveling with his family, winding down with a game of golf and, not surprisingly, sharing a bottle of wine with friends. A keen photographer, his food shots and menus have been featured in numerous international culinary publications.

Based at the InterContinental Bali Resort, Rees will have responsibility for the culinary and service operations of all restaurant venues. In addition, he also has a regional role to oversee food and beverage management at other InterContinetal properties located in Indonesia and Malaysia.

More information: Book a Stay at the InterContinental Bali Resort

Food & beverage suppliers of raw materials and equipment will gather in Bali February 28 – March 1, 2008 at the FHT Bali 2008 – Food, Hotel & Tourism Bali.

Organizers are promising a 40% increase in participants at this year, making the Bali gathering one of the largest trade gatherings of its type in Indonesia.

Those visiting the many booths at FHT Bali 2008 at the Bali International Convention Center (BICC) will:

• Have the opportunity to sample new food and drink products from around the world.

• See the latest in kitchen, hotel and restaurant equipment and technology.

• See top rated international chefs demonstrate their skills.

Bocuse d'Or Cooking Competition

The Indonesian segment of the Bocuse d'Or Asia 2008 culinary competition will be held at the Salon Culinaire 2008 in conjunction with FHT Bali 2008.

During the competition, teams consisting of two professional chefs representing a hotel or restaurant and one official coach will compete. Each team must prepare and present within the allotted time of 180 minutes, one fish main course dish for 14 persons, Western style. The dishes must be presented on 14 individual plates with two appropriate garnishes each. Working in kitchen booths facing the audience, they will endeavor to achieve excellence for their fish dishes as well as the garnishes.

The winner of the Indonesian Bocuse d'Or selected in Bali will go on to represent Indonesia at the first edition of Bocuse d'Or Asia 2008, which will be held at Gourmet World Shanghai in Pudong China May 29-31, 2008. The finals of the international competition will showcase gourmet artisans from 12 nations.

The Indonesian Bocuse d'Or held in Bali is organized by Bali Culinary Professionals - an organization comprised of professional from hotels and restaurants across the Island, food and beverage managers, owners and suppliers to the hospitality industry. The goal of the organization is to create, maintain and improve professional standards of culinary professional through the acquisition of new skills and promoting Balinese cuisine internationally.

FHT Bali 2008 – Food, Hotel & Tourism Bali

Salon Culinaire 2008 - Bocuse d'Or Cooking Competition

February 28 – March 1, 2008

Bali International Convention Center, Nusa Dua, Bali.

As reported on Balidiscovery.com [See: Bali's Year for the Record Books] foreign tourist arrivals to Bali in 2007 ended in record territory at 1.67 million – a +32.1% increase over the previous year.

This installment of Bali by the Numbers continues to examine major inbound markets to Bali, tracking movement for the years 2000-2007 from major European source markets and the U.S.A..





In the graphic presentations shown on balidiscovery.com, the strong negative impact of the October terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005 are evident.

The markets at a glance:

• The Netherlands ended 2007 with 52,870 visitors - an improvement of +29.5 over 2006 (40,833). Tourist visitors from The Netherlands are now performing at unprecedented levels.

• France is also performing in record territory, bringing 61,805 visitors to Bali in 2007 – an improvement of +21.5% over 2006 (50,858).

• Germany improved its arrival totals to Bali by +8.9% in 2007, totaling 68,135 visitors. While German arrivals continue to grow, they still lag -18.9% behind the record levels achieved in 2001 (84,028).

• United Kingdom - turned in strong growth in 2007, improving +12.9% with 70,841 visitors. This encouraging rate of improvement does not, however, compensate for the shortfall of -39.09% in visitors as compared to 2001 when 116,323 U.K. visitors came to Bali.

• U.S.A. similarly, while visitors from the U.S.A. improved +19.% in 2007 (56,208), these totals still pale next to the 79,462 Americans who came to Bali in 2000.

• Russia has become the fastest growing market for Bali, improving +56.17% in 2007, earning 36,933 visitors to the Island. World political developments, visa on arrival facilities and an increasing number of single-airline connections from Moscow to Bali have taken Russia from its "near-zero" arrivals in 2000 to its current stellar performance.

• Spain improved +16.03% in 2007 with 15,020 arrivals. 2007 is a "near par" with the record for Spanish arrivals set in 2002 (17,638).

• Switzerland - decline by half-a-percent in 2007 coming in at 16,213. These totals still trailed by -18.8% Swiss arrivals to Bali in 2000 (19,962).

Republik of Line (ROL) reports that the State Power Company (PLN) have promised that the Java-Bali power grid will be unaffected by the continuing strike of PLN workers in Jakarta.

The Personnel Director of PLN, Djuanda N. Ibrahim, told ROL: "We remain committed to maintaining continual electrical service to our customers. Our employees share this commitment. And, although some of our staff are on strike, this will not disrupt our operations."

An estimated 7,000 PLN employees went on strike on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, to protest a decision to restructure the power company.

Djuanda explained to the press that because the corporate culture of PLN places customer service before all other considerations, the idea of potential industrial sabotage by the striking employees was unthinkable. Moreover, according to Djuanda, while PLN's Directors respect the right of union members to express their views, the management of PLN is fundamentally opposed to any actions that might disrupt public order and the smooth supply of electrical power to the public.

The Chairman of the PLN Worker's Union, Ahmad Daryoko echoed Djuanda's comments, underlining that the current protest by his union was peaceful.

At a January 8, 2008 shareholders' meeting of PLN a decision was made to restructure the Company and improve health services for employee. The phased restructuring of PLN is aimed to eventually evolving the State Power Company into a holding company.

The Friday, February 1, 2008, torrential downpours that flooded access roads to Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and brought the Nation's Capital air hub to a standstill also disrupted passenger movements at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport. An estimated 932 passengers spent extended periods lasting until the evening hours at the Bali airport waiting for their flights to depart.

The Airport Duty Manager at Bali's airport, Muchedi, confirmed the interruption to smooth flight services caused by the rains in Jakarta but assured flight schedules would gradually improve by late Friday evening with the late afternoon re-opening of the Jakarta airport.

Muchedi explained that while there was no problem tied directly to Bali's ability to land and depart aircraft, the rains in Jakarta had caused Bali-bound flights from Jakarta to cancel or delay their flights, effectively delaying the onward flights of those same aircraft from Bali.

The Jakarta-bound flight operations of Lion Air, Indo Air Asia, Mandala, Sriwijaya Air, Adam Air and Garuda were all disrupted due to the poor weather in Jakarta.

Because of heavy rains at the Jakarta airport a total of 54 flights on their inbound legs to the City were diverted to 5 alternative airports in the region. One flight en-route from Bali to Jakarta was ordered to divert to Surabaya's Juanda airport as the result of the temporary closing of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Bali flight operations gradually resumed to normal following the re-opening of Jakarta's airport at 3:30 p.m. Bali time.

An average of 30 flights depart for Jakarta each day from Bali's airport.

The Antara News Agency reports that Bali's current supply of only 41 registered Russian speaking tour guides is wholly inadequate to serve the 36,933 Russian tourist who visited the Island in 2007, an increase of +56% over the total Russians coming to Bali in 2006.

There are currently 7,039 certified tour guides working in Bali - 2,586 (36/5%) of which speak English, 2,160 (30.7%) speak Japanese and less than 1% speak Russian.

Intensive language courses are now being offered in Bali to increase Russian language capabilities.

The inclusion of the name of PT Air Paradise Indonesia in a list of airlines whose operating licenses have been withdrawn by the Government due to prolonged non-operations may spell the final epitaph in the heroic efforts of a Balinese businessman to create a Bali-based international airline.

The colorful and charismatic Balinese businessman Kadek Wiranatha commenced operation of the airline in February 2003, just months after the devastating Bali bombing of October 2002.

Initially operating service to Perth, Western Australia - the Airline at its peak operated 4 leased wide-body aircraft flying between five cities in Australia and Bali carrying an average 20,000 Australian tourists to Bali every month. In addition, the Airline also operated services to South Korea and Japan.

Passionate in his desire to assist in the recovery of Bali's tourism industry, Kadek Wiranatha and his Airline played a key role in Bali's rapid recovery from the 2002 terrorist attack and in bringing Australian visitor back to the island in record numbers.

Hemorrhaging cash after the second Bali bombing attack in October 2005, Air Paradise was compelled to suddenly cease operations in November of that year.

Subsequent efforts to secure government support, new investors and chartered aircraft over the past two years came to naught with the recent revocation of its air operating license, now making the Bali-based airline's resurrection a virtual impossibility.

The death of Indonesia's former President Soeharto on Sunday, January 27, 2008, so dominated Indonesia's media that the passing of one of Indonesia's finest Sons on that same date received less than its due share of news coverage. In a digression from Balidiscovery.com's standard fare of Bali news, we take this opportunity to remember a wonderful personal friend and true Indonesian patriot.

Mohammad Jusuf Ronodipuro was born in Salatiga, Central Java on September 30, 1919, and first came to notoriety while working as a young broadcaster at Hoso Kyuko Jakarta - the broadcasting service operated by the Japanese occupying forces during WWII.

Once on the Air, Always on the Air

In a story often shared with admiring listeners, "Pak" Jusuf could spin a compelling telling of the exciting events in one corner of the Capital on the day Indonesia declared itself a sovereign state. On August 17, 1945, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Ronodipuro was working at Jakarta's main radio studio when a friend, Syahruddin of the Domei Press Office, jumped the back fence at the tightly guarded radio station to evade the Japanese guards. Once inside the facility, he handed Ronodipuro a written instruction from fellow journalist and future Vice President Adam Malik that said: "Please broadcast the attached." The attachment was the text of Indonesia's declaration of independence read by Soekarno in the inner city suburb of Menteng earlier in the day at 10:00 a.m..

After a brief and urgent conference with several journalists, Ronodipuro took the exceptionally bold step of broadcasting the proclamation to all parts of Indonesia and the outside world at 7:00 p.m.

The plan was not without difficulties. Following the surrender of the Imperial forces of Japan the overseas broadcast studio had been closed and left unguarded by the Japanese soldiers starting from August 15th. Pretending to use the idle studio for a domestic news broadcast, Ronodipuro and his colleague Bachtiar Lubis (brother to the famous Indonesian author Mochtar Lubis) managed to share the news of Indonesia's independence. Meanwhile, in another studio, an announcer collaborating in the scheme distracted his Japanese supervisors by pretending to deliver a domestic news broadcast.

For 15 historic and tension-filled minutes Ronodipuro repeatedly broadcast Soekarno's succinct proclamation, both in Indonesian and English, to the world and rest of the Indonesian archipelago.

At the end of the broadcast a very angry Captain of the Japanese Kempetai burst into the studio and delivered a brutal beating to Jusuf and Bachtiar. The manically angry Japanese Army Captain had already unsheathed his samurai sword in presumed preparation to dispatch the two young men when a Japanese Colonel arrived on the scene and managed to calm the homicidal soldier.

The Colonel, who knew Ronodipuro from frequent past discussions of classical music and a shared love for the music of Puccini, intervened to prevent the men's summary beheading. In retelling the tale, "Pak" Jusuf would still credit Giacomo Puccini for saving his life on that fateful day.

Still smarting at the impunity of the young Indonesian broadcasters, the Japanese took the precautionary step of closing the studio only to see the men establish new studios for the "Voice of Indonesia" at a local university which, in its earliest days, broadcast for only two hours each day: one hour in English and one hour in Indonesian.

Because of these early, pioneering broadcasts Ronodipuro is credited as being a founder of Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and generally acknowledged as the originator of the well-known slogan "Sekali di Udara, Tetap di Udara" ("Once on the Air, Always on the Air").

A dedicated believer in the power of radio the poignant message of hope born with the new Indonesian Republic, Ronodipuro was fundamental in arranging the speeches broadcast by Indonesia's first President, Soekarno, on August 25th and an address by Vice-President M. Hatta on August 29, 1945.

The National Anthem

Five years after Indonesia's independence and now serving as the Station Chief of Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) in 1950, Ronodipuro persuaded Soekarno to record for posterity his reading of the proclamation of independence – a recording which remains the only remaining historic record of Indonesia s Founding Father's spoken rendition of the founding text.

Later, Ronodipuro also played a central role in the selection of Indonesia Raya as the Country's national anthem. Reliable press reports suggest that Ronodipuro persuaded a Dutch composer, Jos Cleber, to score and record the song for performance by an orchestra.

When Ronodipuro brought Cleber to the National Palace to play a recording of Indonesia Raya for President Soekarno, a creative collaboration ensued between Cleber and Soekarno that involved three separate re-writes of the song before yielding the approved orchestral version of the song still played today.

A Career Diplomat

Jusuf Ronodipuro, who retired as a Civil Servant in 1976, filled a variety of diplomatic posts in service to the young Republic serving in London, New York (UN) and as Ambassador to Argentina.

Such was his love for RRI, that the "man who first read the independence proclamation" on radio always made it a point of attending the annual celbration of RRI's founding.

Suffering from ill health and series of strokes, M. Jusuf Ronodipuro died at the Indonesian Army Hospital on Sunday, January 27th at 11:30 p.m.. He was buried with full national honors at the Kalibata Hero's Cemetery the following day.

Ronodipuro is survived by his wife Siti Fatma Rassat, daughter Fatmi, two sons - Irawan and Darmawan, and 7 grandchildren.

The Chairman of Bali's Chapter of the Indonesian Tourism Think Tank (MPI), I Wayan Budarmaja, recently told the Bali Post that the Island is becoming increasingly unfriendly to the Island's endemic culture.

Budarmaja complained, "there is a tendency as though the design of tourism is only concerned with serving the desire of tourist visitors, with no orientation to the needs of the people of Bali and their culture."

In his capacity as MPI Chairman, Budarmaja is calling for incentives to be given to the people of Bali to preserve their land, culture and religion in order that these elements can form a sustainable contribution to the Island's tourism. At the same time, he has called on tourism stakeholders from government, the private sector and the general public to find common synergies to preserve the cultural foundation of Bali's tourism sector.

The MPI Chairman told the Bali Post that the Balinese people have little say in the planning, development, supervision and evaluation of local tourism. He complained that the Balinese have become mere tourism objects and passive observers in the tourism industry when, ideally, they should be the central "subject" of tourism and active participants in the tourism process.

Budarmaja concluded by saying Balinese tourism has lost its cultural context. Tourism, he contends, is now only measured in terms of its business value with little regard for investing in the preservation and development of Bali's culture.

The Bali Post confirms that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have formally put forth the names of Police General I Made Mangku Pastika and Aank Agung Puspayoga as their candidates for Bali's next Governor and Vice-Governor. Their candidacy was reportedly confirmed at a meeting at the Jakarta headquarters of the PDI-P on Saturday, January 26, 2008.

Pastika is the former Chief of the Bali Police, credited with capturing the three 2002 Bali bombers and currently serves as the Operational Chief of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN). Puspayoga is the Vice-Mayor of Bali's capital city of Denpasar.

The nomination of the two by acclamation by the inner circle of the PDI-P is subject to final ratification by the Chairperson of PDI-P, Indonesia's former President Megawati Soekarnoputra.

Officers and 200 naval cadets of The Indian Navy paid a good-will visit to Bali's port at Benoa Harbor from January 28 – February 2, 2008.

The three ships are part of the first training squadron of the Indian Navy providing officer-cadets shipboard experience in the practical aspects of seamanship, ship-handling, engineering, weapon handling, an in-depth experience on the sailing, and the rigors of life onboard a ship.

The training squadron is guided by Captain N. N. Rao who commands the three ships:

• Indian Naval Ship Tir - the senor ship of the squadron and the command ship carrying Captain Rao. The ship was commissioned on February 21, 1986 as the first dedicated training ship designed by the Indian Navy and constructed by Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai. The 2,300 tonne ship has a length of 105.85 and a breadth of 13.20 meters.

• Indian Naval Ship Krishna - the second naval ship of the squadron, is commanded by Commander Deepak Kumar. Krishna is a leader class batch III frigate constructed at Portsmouth dockyard and commissioned on August 22, 1995. The ship is 114 meters long and 13 meters wide with a tonnage of 3,140.

• Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna is the only coast guard ship of the training squadron. The ship was named after Lord Varuna, the sea deity of all mariners and one of the oldest of the Vedic Deities. ICGS Varuna was commissioned into service on February 27, 1988. The ship is led by Commander Kr. Suresh.

During their stay in Bali, the ships were open to visitors. The senior officer of the first training squadron and commanding officers of visiting ships also called on government and naval dignitaries.

Following their Bali visit, the three ships headed to Jakarta, the next port of call on their friendly visit to Indonesia and the region.

Karang Mas Sejahtera (KMS) the Indonesian owners of the Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa have been awarded US$10 million in punitive damages by a Maryland Federal (U.S.) jury who found the that Ritz-Carlton - part of Marriott International, had violated a non-competition exclusivity agreement by participating in the development of a second hotel in Bali, the nearby Bulgari Resort.

After a 14-day trial, the Maryland jurors ruled that the 2006 opening of the Bulgari Resort, Bali - operated by Italian Jewelry company Bulgari Spa with Marriott represented a breach of a "non-competing" clause agreed by Ritz-Carlton with the Indonesian owners of the Ritz-Calrton property in Bali. The suite, originally filed in 2005, charged Ritz-Carlton Co. LLC - a Maryland registered company with fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

A report published in the Maryland Daily Record quoted, William A. Brewer, an attorney for KMS as saying: "Ritz-Carlton continuously lied to our client about the nature of the involvement of the Ritz-Carlton employees, standards, and assets in the building of what was a competitive brand next door."

The complaint charged the hotel operators with using names, assets and resources in opening and operating the Bulgari property.

Brewer also alleged that "Ritz Carlton abused its privileges as operators of the KMS hotel and used confidential and proprietary information owned by KMS to plan and develop the competing Bulgari hotel while concealing those profits from KMS."

According to a published report in the Wall Street Journal, lawyers for KMS successfully argued that the Bali Bulgari Resort unfairly benefited from Ritz-Carlton's name in marketing and promotion when it opened its 59 villa luxury hotel, just 5 kilometers up the beach their client's property.

The court case, which awarded KMS $382,304 in compensatory damages together with US$10 million in punitive damages, also allows KMS to terminate its contract with Ritz-Carlton.

An upcoming hearing will determine what additional injunctive relief and attorney fees are due to KMS.

The lawyers for KMS said the owners have yet to decide if they will end their relationship with Ritz-Carlton. KMS attorney Brewer told the Maryland Daily Record that "we'll ask the judge to restrain those ongoing breaches of loyalty by Ritz-Carlton and make sure they don't continue."

The Maryland court ruling may have far-reaching impact against the ever-increasing tendency of large hotels to form large conglomerates encompassing a range of hotel brands. Robert LaFleur, a lodging analyst quoted by the Wall Street Journal said: "One of the ways hotel companies have continued to expand is through brand extensions. They'd either modify an existing brand or come up with a new brand, and that would be seen as a way to get around territorial restrictions that franchisees or hotel owners have."

Both The Wall Street Journal and The Maryland Daily Record report that Ritz-Carlton declined comment on the case.

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