Bali tourism outlook called bright
Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Travel agents are predicting a rosy year for Bali’s tourism industry.
The chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of Indonesia Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA), Al Purwa, said the number of tourist arrivals is expected to reach two million next year.
He said tourism has started to recover from terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005. More than 1.5 million tourists have spent their holidays in Bali from January to November this year.
With most hotels reporting high occupancy rates in December, he estimated the number of arriving tourists this year could be as high as 1.7 million.
“I’ve predicted a booming tourism business this year and it turns out that I’m right,” said Al Purwa, who is also the honorary Dutch consul in Bali.
“Considering the present situation, which will hopefully remain good for some time to come, I am becoming more optimistic that the number of tourist arrivals can reach two million people or even more next year.”
He attributed the trend to better tourism infrastructure and services as well as improved security.
He said Bali’s airport had become more comfortable, although it still did not equal Singapore’s, while the visa-on-arrival policy had helped increase the number of visitors.
He also attributed the surge of arrivals to the promotion of inexpensive lodging in Bali following the bombings.
He said all accommodation rates were back to normal, however, since this year’s Idul Fitri celebrations.
“This December alone, all hotels and travel agencies are busy. Rooms were not only booked but paid for a month ago,” Al Purwa said.
The head of the Cinta Bali association of local travel agencies, Hadi Soetrisno, confirmed that the prices of accommodation had risen from December to January.
“The increase ranges from 50 percent to those who have doubled their prices,” he said.
He attributed the trend to the government’s policy of allowing joint leave to celebrate thisIdul Adha and Christmas holidays.
Hadi, who runs Dwidaya Tour travel agency, said local areas like Jakarta, Medan in North Sumatra, Surabaya in East Java and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan are among potential markets for Bali.
He added that Cinta Bali, which represents 50 agencies, would work to bring more local tourists to Bali, and expected to get a boost from the opening of direct flights from several towns to the island.
Iwan Taruna of the Visi Tour agency, which markets to Russian tourists, struck a similarly positive note.
He said there had been a 68 percent increase in Russian tourist arrivals this December compared to last year.
Most of the Russian tourists, he said, were staying between 10 and 15 days, with each spending an average of US$240 a day in addition to accommodation.
He said many Russian tourists who previously preferred to stay in the Nusa Dua area had slowly moved to Bali’s cultural hub, Ubud.
Iwan, who is also a coordinator for the Russian travel agency Privete, attributed the increase to direct once-a-week flights from Moscow to Bali.
He said in response to increased interest, the flights had been increased to three times a week from Dec. 26 to Jan. 15.
“So far, the flights are fully booked,” Iwan said. “Russians usually have a longer year-end holiday, from Dec. 28 to mid-January next year, allowing them to spend longer in Bali.”
He said Russian travelers also flock to the island from the end of April to mid-May every year.
Al Purwa said the increased arrivals were coming from other countries too. Besides Europe, more tourists are expected to come to Bali from Australia, Japan and the Middle East.
He advised tourism operators to consider raising their rates in January. “Wedirectly offer high rates like in Singapore, where five-star hotels charge double or triple the rates of Bali hotels. But increases should be introduced step by step,” he said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
Add comment December 28th, 2007