Bali Tourism News

The beauty of Bali

There are few more inner emotions felt than when you are privileged to see the sunset over Bali By: John Nielsen Bali is widely regarded by many visitors as the “ultimate” island and is regularly voted by major travel magazines as the most enchanting travel and holiday destination in the world. My second visit confirmed why Bali is now also one of the best luxury destinations to visit, anywhere.

The Indonesian island is located between the large island of Java and Lombok. Bali - www.balitourismboard.org - is one of the smaller islands in Indonesia’s amazing archipelago. Stretching 140 km from east to west 80 km north to south, the island is just 8 degrees south of the Equator and boast year round average temperatures of 28 Celsius or 83 Fahrenheit, all in all just perfect!

The rugged coastline is home to sweeping views and clear blue warm waters, where fish frolic to the delight of divers and snorkelers. The wide and gently sloping southern region play host to Bali famed rice terraces, in the hilly northern coastal regions the spectacular terraces are host to coffee, spices and a plethora of vegetables.

It is the wonderful people that make this place so special, their warm personality, friendliness and always wanting to help the gives a very different meaning to personal service. Through out the island and it’s excellent hotels that superb service is felt. As you arrive and are escorted to your car smiles all around you greet you to make you feel welcome. The driver happily chats away in English and offers you his services should you wish to explore the island and its many wonders.

We ventured off to Amankila located one hours drive from the airport. We arrived to a remote part of the south east coast to the wonderful boutique resort of Amankila, www.amanresorts.com. Tracey Atherton, the General Manager of Amankila, greets us at the entrance. Her big smile and warm welcome says it all, we have arrived at a very unique resort, where 250 staff await to serve you in the 33-stunning villas. The lobby looks out on the stunning coastline with three infinity pools that all seamlessly integrate in to one beautiful picture. The pool suite villa has its own 10 meter lap pool and the natural stone colors are blended in with cooling whites and cream. The resort’s peaceful cliff-side setting, beneath the towering Mount Agung, is surrounded by the tropical spoils of the region, the volcanic beach and even a 41 meter lap pool set in lush gardens with an open dining venue creates quite a unique setting. My family boggy board in the warm waters and feel the thrills of the almost perfect waves, as I sit back and look on with a big smile. We cool off with a few laps in the pool and test the food… very nice!

Tracy has arranged for us to tour the coastline and we board the Amankila 16. The stylish outrigger designed after the “jukung”, a traditional Balinese fishing craft boat is decked out with white lush towels and we gently sail along the spectacular coastline, seeing Amankila from the sea. The resort is almost hidden in the hills and is beautifully integrated with the coastline. We stop at the blue lagoon and begin to snorkel around the area, admiring the many tropical fish and the coral. As we snorkel my wife asks me to dive down and collect a plastic bag on the seafloor. I am reminded how sad that in these tropical waters we encounter human rubbish that will kill the natural wonders of the sea. This frail eco system must be protected at all costs to save the sheer beauty below. As I arrive back to the boat, I have amounted a handful of rubbish that I throw out. Over a perfectly served healthy lunch we ponder how this can be stopped, Tracey remarks with sadness that the Indonesian government must educate the population in order to stop this disaster from escalating and ruining the eco system.
As we arrive back to Amankila we relax under the bale by the pools, few sounds are heard, apart from playful children in the pool and the soft Balinese music that welcomes sunset. Candles are being lit on the stairs to create a perfect setting for one couple that will dine alone by the sea and soak in the ultimate romantic atmosphere with dinner for two!

We wave goodbye and set out for Nusa Dua, an area that was established in the early eighties, with a vision to offer tourism a complete destination. Over the years the influx of top hotel chains have opened up and created an ideal venue.

Nusa Dua is not the only tourism destination in Bali, but with the newly developed coastline towns of Legian and Seminyak to compliment the more traditional areas of Jimbaran, Kuta and Sanur the island is now offering a great selection for any traveler. Eat street in Legian is the perfect venue for all types of modern dining and shopping. The two towns of Legian and Seminyak are linked and seamless integrate with each other. At nighttime the candle lit café’s and restaurants along the beachside open up and create a wonderful atmosphere. It has to be said that this once rice paddy fields has been developed slightly too fast and without much infrastructure so the streets don’t quite match the stylish boutiques and dining venues, but as with all things in Bali, this is all part of the charm.

The beach of Jimbaran Bay is a favorite of many for a night of dining on the beach. Watch the sun set as you feast on local seafood and see locals play in the warm waters. As dark descends, lantern lights light up the beach and the music begins to fill the area with the local disco’s dance floors filling up. The sunset is a magical setting to also watch the planes arrive into Bali’s international airport, whose runway separate the two beaches of Jimbaran and Seminyak.

The local food scene is an array with such excellent Indonesian specialties as Nasi Goring, Satays etc, but for those just wanting international food, simply walk down any of the main street and you will find a cuisine to tempt you (I have to admit that the Balinese make brilliant flat-based pizzas and are very innovative with their toppings).

The wonderful part about Bali is that the island offers so much more then just an island vacation on a beach. As the jet takes off and heads south towards Australia the family are all smiles and ask when can we return to Bali? There seems little doubt that Bali is back to its best and now a new and re-invigorated destination for all luxury travelers.

Source: http://www.kiwicollection.com/

Add comment November 7th, 2008

Can Bali and its luxury villa hotel market maintain growth?

Djody Trisusanto, Consultant

Bali will achieve a second consecutive record in international tourist arrivals this year, with January to September 2008 arrivals already at 1.5 million, a near 20 percent growth year-on-year.

This has been fueled by increased arrivals from Bali’s traditional source markets, including Australia, the United States, France and the U.K. as well as solid growth in relatively new markets, including Russia, China and India. Despite being a slow-growing target source, Japan still represents the biggest market for Bali with about 20 percent of the total share.

The growth so far in 2008 has been partly due to an increase in the number of carriers authorized to land in Bali, and increased flight frequency. The lifting of the recent U.S. travel warning on Indonesia has also raised travel confidence and increased visitor growth from international markets.

Future growth is made possible with the potential resumption of Garuda services to Europe, the proposed expansion of Ngurah Rai Airport and the scheduled opening of a new international airport in Lombok in 2010.

Since 1998, Bali has managed to enjoy a positive compounded annual average growth of about 6 percent, weathering setbacks from the Asian financial crisis in 1998, terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005 and the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The key to Bali’s market resiliency is its uniqueness. It offers the beauty and harmony of endless cultural attractions, beaches and mountain resorts, culinary experiences, shopping and a wide choice of hospitality services, including luxury villa hotels.

The latter concept, which was pioneered by the Oberoi, Amanresorts and the Four Seasons in the early 1990s, has expanded significantly.

Bali has since become internationally recognized as the launching pad in Asia for many international luxury brands that include the Ritz Carlton, Bvlgari, Oriental Express, Como Shambhala and more recently the St. Regis.

The list grows longer with more luxury brands, such as W Retreat and Spa, Raffles, Banyan Tree and Alila set to open in the near future.

These luxury villa hotels offer privacy, luxury, views and personal services featuring detached villas with detailed architectural design, private pools, spacious indoor and outdoor living areas and lavish bathroom facilities.

With their superior attributes, luxury villa hotels are able to command significant rates, with an average daily rate (ADR) in the first six months of 2008 of about US$602, up by 20 percent from a year ago.

Occupancy, however, has grown at a more moderate pace — about 56.7 percent during the same review period against 53.2 percent in 2007. This is attributable to the proliferation of private and independent villa developments in Bali over the last two years, which have shared demand segments with luxury villas.

Overall, the growth of both ADR and occupancy has lifted the revenue per available room (RevPAR) of the luxury villa hotel market by more than 28 percent on year to $341 in the January to June 2008 period. Despite declines in RevPAR in 2002, 2004 and 2006, over the past ten years, RevPAR has grown positively at more than 7 percent, showing the resilience of this market.

The rising number of private and independent villas is not seen as a serious threat to the luxury villa hotel market. Most of these establishments appeal to different market segments, with most looking for a bargain as most branded luxury villa hotels in Bali have continued to increase their rates over the last few years.

Adding to this is the intention of the Bali provincial government to increase control over the developments of these private villas.

Evidence of improved compliance between the state and developers has come in the force of the new governor’s decision to enforce regulations, particularly those affecting Bali’s aesthetics and environment.

Performance in the remainder of 2008 is likely to remain strong in view of normal cancellation levels and anticipated demand growth during the seasonal year-end holidays. We expect luxury villa hotels to see a record performance in 2008.

However, performance in early 2009 may curb as global economies slow and currencies of countries that are traditionally feeders for Bali weaken against the U.S. dollar.

The Bali tourism industry has experienced ups and downs and the luxury villa hotel market, similar to property markets, is cyclical.

In light of the tighter liquidity and competitive market environment, supply growth over the next few years will likely slow as developers and financiers review the size of their proposed projects, the target markets and the timing/staging of their developments.

Estimates of demand for luxury villa hotels will change with new demographics and segments.

The cycle will continue, and over the years with improved development regulations, security and infrastructure, we believe this luxury villa market will enjoy long term growth and continue to be resilient.

The writer is head of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels division

Source: The Jakarta Post

Add comment November 7th, 2008