Ash cloud underscores Indonesia's reliance on Bali for tourist dollars

Jakarta

UNTIL Bali's Mount Agung rumbled back to life in September, Indonesia's main resort island was on course to post another stellar year. Monthly visitor numbers were surging by a quarter or more, and reservations for the Christmas travel season were eye-watering.

Now, as the mountain threatens to explode, forcing the evacuation of thousands from their homes and into shelters for the foreseeable future, all bets are off. Airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights after Agung's ash cloud forced the island's Ngurah Rai International Airport, to close; hoteliers are in damage control as reservation rates, which had looked likely to top 85 per cent over Christmas, began to fall.