BALI OPTIMISTIC OF ACHIEVING 3.5 MILLION TOURIST TARGET by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 4, 2014 (Antara) - Bali, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations, has set a target of attracting at least 3.5 million foreign tourists, or a 10 percent increase, in 2014 from last year's target of 3.18 million.

       Some tourism stakeholders in Bali are optimistic that the target, which was set based on certain considerations, including national security, sanitation, traffic, and services, could be achieved.

          Tourism industry observer Tjok Gede Agung, for instance, considered the target of 3.5 million tourists reasonable.

        During the first seven months of 2014, about two million tourists had visited Bali, and therefore, the 3.5 million tourist target is a rational estimation, according to him.

       "Bali Island is still a major tourist destination for foreigners holidaying in Indonesia," he said in Bali's capital Denpasar recently.

         The total number of foreign travelers who visited Bali in 2012 was around 2.89 million, or 96.4 percent of the target set.

         In 2013, Bali exceeded its target of attracting 3.1 million foreign tourists, as the number of direct foreign tourist arrivals to the island reached 3,278,697, or up by 13.37 percent from last year's figure.

       "We are optimistic about the 2014 target," head of the Bali Tourism Agency Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu told Bali Daily in December 2013.

        The number of tourist arrivals has seen a constant surge over the last five years owing to the improved global financial condition, according to Subhiksu.

        Tjok Gede Agung estimated that an average of 290 thousand foreigners have visited Bali every month this year. By December 2014, 3.539 million foreigners will have visited.

         He said the increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali was due to political conflicts in Thailand.

         In January-June period this year, the number of foreign visitors to Bali totaled 1,727,875, a hike of 15.73 percent from 1,493,020 in the same period last year.

         Australia supplied the highest number, with 446,406 visitors, in the same period, followed by visitors from China reaching 264,840 and Malaysia 109,298.

        The number of Russian holiday makers visiting Bali, however, has declined lately due to escalation of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

        Russian tourists generally used chartered aircraft, as no regular flight is available between Russia and Indonesia, tourism observer Made Sudana said recently.

        The number of Russians visiting Bali shrank 12 percent to 29,783 in the first half of this year from 45,216 in the same period in 2013. Russians make up only around 2.3 percent of foreign tourists based on arrival record at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport.

        As for hotel room occupancy, the central bureau of statistics (BPS) office said star-rated hotels in Bali have recorded a decline in the length of stay of tourists to 2.95 days on the average in June from 3.36 days in May this year.

         "Foreign tourists had stayed only for 3.23 days per visit as against 3.50 days in May, and domestic guests had stayed for 2.41 days as against 3.08 days in May," head of the Bali BPS office Panusunan Siregar said.

          Star-rated hotels recorded an occupancy rate of 62.10 percent in June, up from 61.01 percent in May.

         Meanwhile, Ngurah Rai Airport had operated 2,228 international flights to overseas destinations in July 2014, an increase of 4.98 percent compared to 2,123 flights in the last month.

         "The international flights have carried 376,445 foreign tourists for their vacations in Bali. The number of tourists has increased by 5.83 percent compared to 355,702 visitors recorded in the previous month," Siregar stated recently.

            Most of the visitors had arrived at Bali via Ngurah Rai International Airport, and the other 20,295 had come via seaport or cruise ships.

         Siregar explained that the rise in the number of foreign visitors to Bali has led to an increase in the amount of luggage and goods transported in July 2014, which was recorded at 5.92 percent or from 6,352.8 tons in June 2014 to 6,728.6 tons in July 2014.

         In the meantime, 3,709 flights had departed for domestic destinations in July 2014 or a decrease of 6.33 percent compared to 3,287 flights recorded in the previous month.

          These domestic flights had carried luggage and goods weighing 3,414.2 tons or a decrease of 17.37 percent compared to 4,132.1 tons recorded in the previous month.

         When visiting Bali recently, President-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo cautioned that the growing tourism industry in Bali should not harm environment and culture.

         "I hope the development of the tourism sector will not damage the local environment and culture," said Jokowi.

         He also expressed hope that Bali will continue to remain a first-class tourism destination. He highlighted the importance of protecting the ecology while developing the tourism industry.

          "I heard that southern Bali is too crowded and is being pushed too far. The environment must not be harmed due to tourism," he emphasized.

          Jokowi lauded the traditional cultural institutions of Bali for continuing to preserve Balinese tradition and culture.***2***
(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE