BALI BECOMES MORE POPULAR AMONG INDIAN TOURISTS by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 17, 2016 (Antara) - Bali Island, Indonesia's most famous tourist resort, and India, have a striking similarity, namely that both have a Hindu majority population.

         The people of Bali, and even those in several parts of Indonesia, also share the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics of India. 
    Bali and India, however, also have their own unique culture, traditions and characteristics.

         It is reported that during his visit to Java and Bali in 1927, Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, was so enamored by Bali that he said, "Wherever I go on the island, I see God."
     Then, 23 years later in 1950, India's then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hailed Bali as the "Morning of the World".

           In the past, Bali was not a favorite destination of Indian tourists. But lately, thanks to intensified promotional activities in India organized by the Indonesian government, the number of Indian tourists visiting Bali has shown a relatively significant surge.     
      A Wonderful Indonesia campaign, for instance, was organized by the ministry during the Sale Mission India 2016 in Kolkata, India, on August 22, with the objective of attracting more tourists. 
     In addition to tourist promotion, the Indonesian government's visa free policy has also helped to significantly boost the number of foreign tourists. India is one of the nearly 100 countries that receive the visa-free facility.

         The Indonesian government hopes to attract some 12 million foreign tourists, including 350 thousand from India, this year.

         With a population four times that of Indonesia, or the world's second largest after China, India is a potential market for the Southeast Asian nation's tourism industry.

          A majority of Indian tourists head for Bali when they visit Indonesia. Besides Bali, Jakarta and Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara also receive a large number of Indian tourists.

          From January to July 2016, the number of Indian tourist arrivals in Bali recorded the highest increase, with 107.046 visitors, or a 59.07 percent rise, from 67.296 in the same period of the previous year.   
    The Bali tourism office has set a target to receive 4.4 million foreign tourists this year.

         The head of Bali's Tourism Office, Anak Agung Yuniartha Putra, recently expressed his optimism that with an average number of visits at around 350 thousand per month, the target will be achieved.

        Last year, Bali attracted 4.001 million foreign tourists, up 6.24 percent, from 3.76 million recorded in the previous year and surpassing 2015's target of four million foreign visitors.

         During the January to July 2016 period, the total number of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali reached 2.75 million or up 19.92 percent, from 2.98 million during the same period last year.

         Of the total figure, 2.71 million tourists landed at the Ngurah Rai Airport, and 40.674 arrived at seaports, Head of the Central Statistics Agency of Bali Adi Nugroho stated recently.

         Most of the foreign tourists, around 65 percent of the total number, are attracted by the local culture, while the rest are interested in Bali's beautiful panorama.

          The number of foreign tourists from seven countries showed a significant increase during the first seven months of this year.   
    The largest in number were those from Australia, followed by China, Japan, Britain, India and Malaysia.

         A total of 645,730 Australians spent their holidays in Bali during the January-July 2016 period, up 13.89 percent from 566,983 during the same period last year.

         The number of tourists from China reached 564,526, up 33.48 percent, from 422,022; Japan, 127,276 (up 2.60 percent, from 124,051); the United Kingdom, 120,476 (up 40.05 percent, from 86,024); the United States, 98,594 (up 31.61 percent, from 74,911); and France, 89,161 (up 27.36 percent, from 70,008).

         The number of tourists from Malaysia visiting Bali dropped by 8.02 percent, from 111,001 to 102,098; South Korea, by 5.84 percent, from 89,394 to 84,177; and Singapore, by 6.63 percent, from 83,544 to 78,077.

         A survey by a credit card issuer  entitled "Asia Pacific Destinations Index (APDI)" said Bali is one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia  and it is to be visited by more than 7 million foreign tourists with spending of around US$11 billion in 2016.

         Earlier, in its December 2015 edition, the New York-based Travel+Leisure Magazine placed Bali in the 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.

         Besides, Bali has also become a favorite place for MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) tourism, thanks to the security and convenience it offers to the visitors.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 17-09-2016 13:59