THE death of a Sunshine Coast mother and daughter in Bali over the weekend isn’t likely to deter Australians from choosing the popular tourism spot as a holiday destination in the future, not according to two Orange men.
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Queenslander Noeline Bischoff and her 14-year-old daughter Yvana fell violently ill last weekend and died a short time later, with food poisoning originally thought to be the cause of death.
The Bali restaurant, however, has since denied those claims.
Still, the latest death of Australians overseas has done little to negate safety warnings for eager travellers.
Figures released by the Foreign Affairs Department in 2012 revealed one Australian dies in Bali every nine days, while a further 93 required consular assistance.
Visiting Bali last year, keen-tourist Anthony Salmon said he was made aware of health information prior to departure.
“Our travel agent told us to be wary about certain things; no water, no ice in drinks and no salads, they’ve been washed with water,” Mr Salmon said.
He said he’d “absolutely” travel back to the destination.
“We loved it,” he said.
“I think it depends on what you go over there for as well.
“If you go over there to let loose then those types of scenarios are probably going to find you. But they’re not everywhere.”
Travelscene Orange consultant Robert Thornberry said he booked a Bali holiday for clients on Monday and was confident the recent tragedies in the South East of Asia wouldn’t deter Australian tourists.
“No, not at all,” Mr Thornberry said.
“Some people are worried about what happened on October 12 (2002) many years ago and listen to the government warnings in place, but I travel to Bali every year and have been for the last 20 years.”
Mr Thornberry said flying in and out with Garuda was relatively cheap, with return airfares $680.
He believes the cheap travel prices would ensure Australians still chose Bali to holiday.
“It’s still a very affordable place,” Mr Thornberry added.
“It’s very popular. We still book Bali holidays constantly.”