BALI TARGETS TO RECEIVE AT LEAST 4.2 MILLION FOREIGN TOURISTS IN 2016 by Fardah
Jakarta, Feb 5, 2016 (Antara) - Bali has maintained its reputation as one of the world's best islands and managed to attract over four million foreign tourist arrivals last year.
In its December 2015 edition, the New York-based Travel + Leisure Magazine placed Bali in second place with a score of 88.98 in the ratings of the world's best islands. Galapagos Islands of Ecuador was in the top with the highest score of 90.82, and Maldives in the third rank with a score of 88.53. "I am very proud of Bali for being selected as one of the world's best islands," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya commented in early January 216. Travel + Leisure is a monthly magazine based in New York with 4.8 million readers. It is the biggest competitor of Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveler. The Bali Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recorded a total of 4.001 million foreign tourist arrivals during 2015, up 6.24 percent from 3.76 million recorded in the previous year. "The target of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in 2015 has been achieved, but the increase is relatively small," Adi Nugroho, head of the Bali BPS, said, and added that last year's target was four million foreign tourists. The number of tourists from seven countries to Bali increased significantly, but at the same time, there was a decrease in arrivals from three countries. Some 966,869 tourists arrived from Australia, a drop of 2.53 percent from 991,923 recorded in 2014. Despite the decrease, Australia remains on the top, constituting 24.16 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals in Bali. The number of tourist arrivals from Malaysia decreased by 15.60 percent and from Singapore by 18.39 percent. A rise in foreign tourist arrivals in Bali was recorded from seven countries, with a 17.43 percent increase in tourists from China, 4.96 percent rise in tourists from Japan, 31.95 percent from the United Kingdom, and 4.64 percent from South Korea, in addition to 19.82 percent from the United States, 2.42 percent from France, and 8.81 percent from Taiwan. In December 2015 alone, Bali recorded 370,640 foreign tourist arrivals, an increase of 6.70 percent from the same period last year, or an increase of 36.8 percent over the November 2015 figure. Most of the foreign tourists used the Ngurah Rai International Airport to enter Bali, and only 77,886 tourists arrived in Bali through its seaport aboard cruise liners, he explained. The minimal increase was due to the eruption of Mount Barujari in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, which forced the closure of Ngurah Rai Airport on several occasions. A total of 692 domestic and international flights were canceled due to the airport's closures. With regard to domestic flights, 183 arrival flights and 189 departure flights were cancelled. In terms of international flights, 157 arrival flights and 163 departure flights were cancelled during the three-day shutdown of Bali airport. For 2016, the Bali Tourism Office has set the target for tourist arrivals at the world-renowned tourist island at 4.2 million, at least. The tourism office has also set the target of domestic tourists visiting the resort island for 2016 at 7.8 million. "This is a provisional target. We have not made detailed calculations because we still have to coordinate with the Udayana University. Ideally, it should be 4.5 million, but we cannot set a target recklessly," Head of the Bali Tourism Office Anak Agung Gede Yuniartha Putra said recently. The provisional target would be only 200 thousand more tourists, compared to the target set for tourist arrivals in 2015 at 4 million, he said. "To achieve the target of tourist arrivals next year, we will receive promotional assistance from the central government. In addition, we have also prepared a calendar of activities to be organized throughout 2016," he said. With the calendar of activities, tourists would be assured of cultural and tourism activities in Bali, he said. The number of Chinese tourist arrivals in Bali has increased significantly over the past few years, placing China as the second-largest tourist contributor, after Australia. The number of Chinese visitors to Indonesia has also surged year on year, up 25 percent in the first eight months of 2015. Bali's Association of Travel Bureaus (Asita Bali) is optimistic of witnessing a surge in the number Chinese tourists visiting Bali in 2016. Direct flights from Chinese cities to Bali Island could help increase the number of Chinese tourist arrivals, Chairman of Asita Bali I Ketut Ardana stated in January 2016. On January 12, 2016, Garuda Indonesia launched a direct flight connecting Shanghai in China with Denpasar in Bali Island. Garuda Indonesia serves the Denpasar-Shanghai route thrice a week on every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, using the A330-300 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 360 passengers. Earlier, Garuda had already operated regular flights on the Denpasar-Beijing and Denpasar-Guangzhou routes. With a population of over a billion people, China contributes at least 100 million tourists making overseas trips a year. China had been one of the priority areas for the airline's international flights aimed at facilitating tourists from the world's most populous country, Commercial Director of Garuda Indonesia Handayani noted in a statement recently. ***1*** (f001/INE/a014)
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