Royal fellowship blacklisted by travel association

Tue, 03/24/2009 12:56 PM  |  Bali

The chairman of the Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies' (ASITA) Bali office, Aloysius Purwa, urged ASITA members Monday not to engage in any business activities with the All Nusantara Royal Palaces Fellowship (FSKN), after it allegedly deceived two travel operators, including one belonging to Purwa.

The FSKN is an organization chaired by the king of Denpasar, Ida Tjokorda Djambe Pemecutan IX. Its members come from royal families from across the nation. The fellowship has fought for government recognition and funding for the country's royal palaces as officially designated cultural heritage sites.

"Do not respond to their inquiries or offers, unless they *FSKN executives* come up with a down payment as stipulated in the contract," Purwa said.

He warned other tour operators to take a lesson from the case involving his Kuta Cemerlang Bali (KCB) a tour agency and the FSKN.

"Even an organization of respected kings and royals can do such a thing. So we must be more careful, we should not let ourselves be carried away by the amount of contracts they offer," he stressed.

Purwa said the case involving KCB and the FSKN took place in November 2008 when the fellowship hired the tour operator to manage the transportation and lodging of delegates attending the FSKN's four-day gathering and cultural parade.

"FSKN chairman Ida Tjokorda Djambe Pemecutan IX and treasurer Aloysius Fanggiday met with me at my office and presented a letter of guarantee. The gesture convinced me their offer was real and genuine," Purwa said.

In the end, he went on, the FSKN failed to pay all the expenses incurred by the gathering, leaving KCB with losses of Rp 500 million.

KCB is not the only tour operator claiming to have been defrauded by the FSKN. The most recent case involves Jakarta-based PT Maestro Wisatama Indonesia.

The company's managing director Gia Bramantyo said at a press conference that a cancelled European trip involving a large FSKN delegation had resulted in financial losses of Rp 7.8 billion. The amount was the sum of all fees and charges associated with the trip delivered by the travel agent's counterparts, including the airlines, hotels and tour operators in Europe.

"The trip's contract is worth nearly US$1.5 million, and that was the amount we initially had to pay our counterparts. However, after a series of negotiations, they agreed we must pay Rp 7.8 billion," he said.

The travel agent was appointed last February to manage the trip by, once again, the FSKN chairman and treasurer.

"They agreed to fulfill their financial obligation by Feb. 27 at the latest. The FSKN also provided us with a letter from BNI bank, stating there were funds of Rp 25 billion in the FSKN's account at the bank," Bramantyo said.

Called the East-West Cultural Royal Bali Tour, the trip was supposed to have taken place from March 9-27, and included visits to the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy.

In Germany, the Denpasar king was scheduled to, on behalf of the Balinese people, receive a tourism award, and while in Paris, the FSKN delegation would organize a major cultural performance in cooperation with the local Indonesian Embassy. There was also a plan to hold an audience with the Pope at the Vatican.

The FSKN delegation was to have comprised 280 people, including representatives of the various royal families in Indonesia, performers and musicians.

"On Feb. 16, we received a phone call from the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, informing us the planned cultural performance was cancelled," Bramantyo said.

The news came as a shock to the travel agency executives, particularly since they had completed all the necessary preparations for the trip.

JP/Wasti Atmodjo

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