When embassy after embassy issued travel warnings here, the initial reaction was a shrug. We thought we could still see many tourists, though the 2002 bombing in Bali obviously brought the industry to a halt.
In the following years the public slowly replaced denials of terrorism with appreciation toward the work of the police in identifying suspects and bringing them to book.
But little could be done to rapidly repair the international image even though we don't encounter extremists on a daily basis.
A bit of introspection on our own surroundings brought the realization of just what it was that many a government wanted their citizens to avoid. Following communal conflicts and also church bombings, the U.S. travel warning was issued in 2000, only lifted this past Sunday.
However it's not only terrorism and violence -- many governments also tried to warn their citizens about the numerous disasters and health hazards in Indonesia.
The adventurous tourist of any country dismisses such warnings, educates and prepares himself or herself, and goes anyway. Such travelers would agree that Indonesia, as one bumper sticker says, is "dangerously beautiful".
But our tourism industry, failing in many areas even before the impact of 9/11, cannot depend on the hard-nosed traveler.
The news that the United States lifted its travel warning on Indonesia is heartening. Up to two years ago barely 185,000 tourists came from North and South America, far below Europeans (over 730,000) and Japan alone (more than 400,000).
U.S. Ambassador Cameron R. Hume was quoted as saying the warning was lifted because of "objective improvements" regarding security. "Indonesia has not experienced a major terrorist attack since October 2005, and the government ... has disrupted, arrested and prosecuted numerous terrorist elements," he said.
Yet it is not time to celebrate.
Travel promoters can easily boast that our archipelago has much more to offer than one annoying neighbor who we accuse of continuously "stealing" claims over our heritage. But it is often exasperating to see how promoters miss the basics.
Yes, visitors want all things exotic that they have never seen before, but not everyone is out for a holiday where they must suddenly adjust their habits -- sanitation, for one.
Officials of the Tourism Ministry cannot say that sanitation does not fall under "their" department, as many of our civil servants are wont to do. An integrated campaign of "Visit Indonesia 2008" is still yet to show efforts across sectors to spread one message. That if we are to welcome more tourists than our paltry figure of 5.51 million last year, then, to mention one urgent need, all those who manage public facilities from the airport to the restaurants need to understand the importance of clean toilets and running taps.
Also, we still need a standard behavior among cab drivers to prevent giving the first-time visitor a nightmarish image of our country, as well as standard pricing of hotels to prevent tourists from getting charged hundreds of dollars for a night in a damp room with a breakfast of only very oily nasi goreng.
Years ago we laughed when Hong Kong authorities launched a "smile" campaign so that travelers would not have the locals' stern countenance imprinted on their memory.
Similarly we cannot afford to be forever described as "beautifully dangerous". While we can rely on our police efforts to continuously combat terrorists, we don't quite know who is leading the war on dirt, and the campaign on decency.
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