With more foreign tourists, Bali needs more guides

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Bali chapter of the Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI) has resumed its guide certification program in response to an increase in the number of tourists from non-English-speaking countries, an official said.

Registration for the current round of certification will be open from Dec. 29 to Jan. 20. The HPI hopes to find more qualified guides who are able to speak Russian, Korean and Chinese.

"We are lacking guides who can speak Russian, Mandarin and Korean, while the number of tourists from these countries has increased," head of the Bali chapter of the HPI, Made Sukadana, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said there were currently only around 700 guides who speak Mandarin, 50 for Russian and dozens for Korean.

"We need at least 300 more guides who speak Mandarin and 100 each for Russian and Korean," Sukadana said.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Bali last year was 77,592 as of November, a 113.2 percent increase from the 36,394 in 2006. The number of Russian and Korean tourists reached 31,267 people and 107,425, as of November.

"The number of tourists from those countries is increasing by up to 30 percent each year," Sukadana said.

He said that between 2004 and 2006, the HPI did not certify any new guides because the association was focused on improving the skills of existing guides.

"There were around 7,000 licensed guides during that time and we were trying to improve their skills, because we do not want guides who are unqualified," he said.

In addition, according to I Ketut Warsa, one of the organizers for the guide certification registration, Bali's tourism sector at that time had yet to recover from the Bali bombings.

"This year we have seen quite a significant improvement (in tourist numbers), so we need to increase the number of certified guides to keep up with the tourists," he told the Post.

He said that as of Tuesday, at least 700 guides had signed up for certification, but only 564 met the requirements to take the test.

Sukadana said candidates needed high school diplomas, Bali identity cards, a health certificate, a letter issued by the police stating the holder has never been arrested and a recommendation from the tourism bureau.

He said candidates also had to pay Rp 1.7 million (US$180) to cover the test, which includes field trips.

"Aside from written test, we will also conduct trips to some tourism areas in Bali to test their knowledge of the areas," he said.

Jero Arik, 36, said she had to offer her services as an uncertified guide for Korean tourists for three years because the HPI was not offering certification.

"But since the number of guides who are able to speak Korean is limited, I always had a job," she said.

She expects to get her license this year, which will make her job easier.

"I was always worried about working as a guide without a license because I could have been arrested anytime," she said.

The HPI conducts raid regularly at various tourist destinations to catch uncertified guides.