MADE Suarsa's minibus is almost empty these days as he winds through the narrow streets of Denpasar, capital of one of the world's best-known travel destinations, Bali.

　　The minibus often used to be packed with tourists, including Australian surfers, Japanese honeymooners and international celebrities who flocked to this island of long white sandy beaches, towering volcanoes, and lush vegetation.

　　That was before last October's nightclub bombings on Kuta Beach - blamed on Muslim militants - that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, and the more recent impact on regional travel from the deadly SARS virus.

　　Made, a Balinese Hindu in his 50's and already a grandfather several times over, tries to be philosophical about the drop in his business and that of others reliant on the tourist trade.

　　"Maybe we have to look at our karma, look at things that have gone wrong," he says.

　　But others in Bali,swheres70 per cent of the population directly or indirectly depends on tourism for their survival, are more pragmatic about ways to get visitors and their money back to "Paradise Island".

　　Before the bomb blasts, tourism was bringing Indonesia some US billion a year, with Bali accounting for about 35 per cent of the total.

　　Don Birch, who heads leading Asian travel information and reservation services provider Abacus International, said Bali was beginning to recover after the bombings through low-cost packages and promotional campaigns to boost its image.

　　Hotels and airlines have made a concerted effort to provide travellers with "cost-effective packages" designed to jump start Bali's tourism business, he told a regional tourism meeting in Bali last week.

　　"Once the tourism industry partners in Bali showed the world that safety and security precautions were in place and government advisories were removed, travellers returned," Birch said.

　　SARS scare

　　In the last few weeks, however, Bali has had to deal with a new problem, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

　　SARS, which has been spread around the world by travellers, has infected at least 4,000 people and killed more than 230 people in 25 countries in the last six weeks, after first showing up in southern China in November.

　　While Indonesia has yet to confirm any cases, important sources of tourism for the sprawling archipelago such as Singapore and Hong Kong have been hit hard, and many Westerners are simply avoiding Asian travel altogether.

　　"SARS is the biggest problem, more than anything else now," said Julita Chandra, marketing communications manager at five star Hotel Nusa Dua Beach. "If it is not resolved the outlook for hotels here will continue to be gloomy."

　　Before SARS emerged, Bali tourist arrival growth was accelerating from the lows hit just after the bombings in late October and early November, when occupancy rates at many hotels were measured in single digits.

　　Arrivals in February, for example, were down around 28 per cent from the same month a year earlier, compared to a 56 per cent year-on-year drop in November. Last year the island recorded 1.35 million tourist arrivals.

　　At this week's tourism conference, industry leaders said they would also try to fight the impact of terrorism and SARS by being honest about problems while publicizing progress in dealing with issues such as security and disease.

　　Baliphiles

　　Some pin their hopes on "Baliphiles", those so in love with the island they return year after year, and domestic tourists, for whom SARS and possible anti-Western violence are not issues and the bargain prices of recent months are hard to resist.

　　Australian Vern Cork is one of the Baliphiles. A retired teacher who has visited Bali annually for more than 20 years, he likes spending months every year in picturesque Ubud, with its hills, trees and running streams.

　　He says his time in Ubud, considered the island's cultural capital and centre for traditional artists, has been an enlightening experience so profound it helped him recover from a Parkinson's-like disease.

　　"The culture is so rich. It is peaceful here. And despite all the bad news, I am getting better here in Bali," Cork says.

　　Visitors willing to bargain hard can get sea-front rooms in some five-star hotels for well under US a day.

　　Car rentals are down more than 25 per cent from a year ago, and many restaurants offer 50 per cent off menu prices.

　　For roadside food seller Made Sujana, such steps cannot bring recovery soon enough. "I earn 20,000 rupiah (US.20) a day, a third of what I got before the bombings," he said.

　　"I have two kids at school and I haven't paid my rent for two months. I read recovery might take another six months."