The bombing caused many death

It should be the height of the season in Bali.

In past years, tourists from around the world besieged the vacation island at Christmas and New Year's to surf, party or laze beside the pool.

Not this year.

At a five-star resort normally packed during Christmas, few people were sunbathing, no one was cooling off in the luxurious pool and the golf course was empty.

"It has been like this since the bombings. The rich are afraid of death so they just choose to go to other places," said a staff member at one of Bali's top hotels.

At least 190 people, about half of them Australian tourists, died in the Oct. 12 Kuta nightclub bombings.

A year ago, those nightclubs were packed with revelers. This year, the site of the blasts is a memorial to the dead and is among the most-visited places in Bali by tourists and Balinese.

Gde Pitana, head of the Bali Tourism Authority, is optimistic Bali will rebound six months after the tragedy, arguing massive media coverage of the incident had been a boon in terms of free advertising for the island.

"The tragedy has put Bali on a high position. Nobody blames Bali. And the progress achieved by the police is incredible," he said, referring to the arrests of a number of key suspects.

But while few people blame Bali for the tragedy, that view has yet to bring back tourists haunted by fear of more attacks.

Foreign tourist arrivals reached their lowest ever in November since records began in 1997. Last month, there were only 31,000 tourists, compared with the pre-blast figure of about 100,000 tourists per month.

At a wood-carving workshop in the central Bali, owner Made Budiarsa said most of his 75 craftsmen often sleep around huge chunks of log during working hours.

"Usually we get heaps of orders, but now, after carvings are done, no order comes in. So we don't know what to do. " he said, adding business was at its worst since the shop opened 20 years ago.

(Agencies)