Impacts of the bombings

Economic
The Bali bombings had a significant negative impact on the local and regional economies. Bali is heavily dependant on tourism, which plummeted in the wake of the attacks. Tourist will most probably avoid Bali as a tourism spot after the bombings. However, some analysts have argued that the economic impact of the bombings was negligible given that the contribution of tourism to Indonesian GDP was only 4 to 6 percent.

Social

There were impacts on the radical Muslim organisations. Many Indonesians do not accept that militant Muslims were responsible for the attack and the belief that the U.S. was behind the bombing as a way of winning support for a war on Iraq. For example, Nadhatul Ulama (NU), one of Indonesia’s largest Muslim groups accused the US of resorting to “unethical political maneuvers” to pressure Indonesia.

Political

Advocates of political reform are worried that the post-Bali focus on security, by the Megawati administration and foreign governments alike, could divert attention from the urgent need to strengthen civilian institutions, reform the armed forces, fix the courts, and end corruption. In addition, disenchantment with President Megawati, already high, has increased as a result of 12 October. This could affect the 2004 presidential elections, which for the first time will be determined by direct popular vote.


Acknowledgement:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=1766&l=1
www.eurasianpolicy.org/files/publications/AcharyaTheBaliBombings.pdf