0 Bali sees rapid tourist growth from Asia Pacific

Tourists from the Asia-Pacific region dominated Balinese tourism comprising 59.26 percent of the total 2.12 million foreigners visiting Bali in the January-September 2012 period. Tjokorda Gde Agung, who is involved in the island’s tourist industry, said that air transportation had been a significant factor in boosting the number of tourists from the region. 

“Many airlines from the Asia-Pacific region have opened direct flights to Bali,” Agung said. Currently, Bali’s major tourism markets are Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, the US and Singapore. Other markets with potential are the UK and France. “European countries were Bali’s traditional market in the past, but limited flights to the island have prevented many Europeans from visiting Bali for their vacations,” he said. 

To attract more tourists from European countries, the Bali Tourism Agency has to work hard to promote and improve services to this particular market. The island hoped to see 2.8 million foreign tourists in 2012 and it has probably reached that target. Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu, head of the Bali Tourism Agency, said that the island expected to draw some 3.1 million foreign visitors in 2013 with the completion of the massive renovation and expansion of Ngurah Rai International Airport. 

“Bali is optimistic about achieving its tourism target in 2013 with the coming international conferences taking place on the island,” said Subhiksu. Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported from Pasadena, California, in the US, that Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said she was optimistic that Indonesian tourism would continue to grow significantly in 2013. 

“Indonesian tourism grew at 5 percent in 2012 in the midst of global economic upheavals, especially the European financial turbulence,” said Mari on the sidelines of the Pasadena Flower Tournament last weekend. Global growth in tourism stood at only 3 to 4 percent in 2012. “Indonesia will be relying on tourists from the Asia-Pacific region. During this global crisis, long-haul trips will be too costly,” said Mari. 

Esthy Reko Astuti, director general for tourism marketing at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, said Indonesia was expecting to welcome around 9 million tourists in 2013. In 2012, some 8 million foreigners visited the country. “The target was calculated based on the region’s economic growth and the people’s per capita income,” Esthy said. She was certain that the contribution of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) travel would be huge with a series of world-class meetings to be held in Bali in 2013.

source : bali daily