TRAVEL to Bali is still safe, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office — even though other countries’ travel advisories say that the Indonesian island is a no-go.

The United States Department of State and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade both warn against “non-essential” travel to Indonesia, which suffered bomb attacks in Bali killing 202 people including 26 Britons in 2002. Australia’s advisory recently changed after intelligence about an imminent strike.

But British tour operators, including the UK’s biggest long-haul company, Kuoni, as well as Hayes & Jarvis, and Travelmood, are continuing to sell holidays to Bali, and insist that they are following the FCO’s advice.

The Australian Government’s warning, posted on its website, says: “We continue to receive a stream of credible reporting suggesting that terrorists are in the advanced stages of planning attacks in Indonesia. Attacks could happen at any time, anywhere in Indonesia, and could be directed at any locations known to be frequented by foreigners.”

The website adds that “international hotels frequented by Westerners in Jakarta are being targeted in current terrorist planning”.

Tourism in Bali, which has some of the world’s top five-star hotels and some of the most beautiful beaches, has been slowly recovering during the past year, with confidence growing in the island’s safety.

A spokeswoman for the FCO, which gave the green light to tourism a year ago after the 2002 bombs, said: “We pay attention to other countries’ travel advice, but we have our own sources regarding safety. We constantly update information.”

Tour operators say that security has been increased at Bali’s hotels, with scanning machines at entrances, mirror checks under vehicles, and checks on staff. Tourism improved by 6 per cent in the first half of the year, with visitor numbers up to 700,000.

A Kuoni spokeswoman said: “Bali is proving extremely popular with our clients — a situation that we hope will continue.”

Chris Lee, commerical director at Travelmood, which has a week with flights and three-star accommodation from £569, said: “We’re definitely not pulling out, we’re sticking to the FCO advice.”

Details: FCO (www.fco.gov.uk) has links to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the US Department of State websites.

Times recommends

• 30 sunny holidays for April and May
• The complete family gap year guide
• 25 spring days out around Britain