Even though no protests against the Danish Mohammed-drawings have been reported on Bali, major travel agencies in Denmark have now decided to terminate all bookings to the popular tourist destination. The decision has been made as a direct response to the Danish Foreign Ministry’s official warning for all Danes to leave Indonesia.
“As of today we will not be selling trips to Bali. Not even if people might still want to go there. When the Foreign Ministry asks people to go home, one should react accordingly,” Star Tour Sales Director Stig Elling tells Ritzau on Tuesday.
Looking for Danes
Star Tour personnel have begun locating their Danish guests in Indonesia in order to get them to take the next commercial flight home – including the Danish tourists who are currently in Bali. According to Mr. Stig Elling, Star Tour has about 15-20 tourists in Indonesia at the moment – all of which were informed of the unstable situation prior to their departure.
With Southeast Asian countries now being added to the list of countries that Danes are advised to stay out of, it is now estimated that around 3,000 Danes have had their winter vacation cancelled or prematurely interrupted as a direct consequence of the inflamed reaction to the well-publicized newspaper cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed.
