Bali Still Depends on Tourism

KOMPAS/COKORDA YUDISTIRA

Travelers cycle behind a hotel in the Nusa Dua area, Badung, Friday (21/8/2020).

Bali’s tourism industry, which has depended on foreign tourists to date, needs to diversify so it becomes more resilient and sustainable.

BADUNG, KOMPAS — Tourists started arriving on Bali after the government reopened travel to the island province in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bali’s tourism industry, which has depended on foreign tourists thus far, needs to diversify so it is more resilient and sustainable.

According to arrival data at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, one of the main gateways to Bali, more than 10,000 domestic travelers arrived on Wednesday (16/3/2022). That figure was almost double from Wednesday (2/3) two weeks previously.

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An estimated 1,500 foreign visitors were expected to arrive in Bali each day, said Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, the chair of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI), when contacted on Tuesday (22/3).

The projection was around 10 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals at Ngurah Rai airport in 2019, which averaged 17,000 foreign arrivals per day. However, the projection was still very large compared to the number foreign tourist arrivals from April 2020 to January 2022, which ranged from zero to just 273 foreign visitors per month.

Then, there is the visa-on-arrival facility for 42 countries and the Covid-19 vaccination and booster program.

Industry optimism increased after the travel restrictions were eased for foreign tourists, which eliminated quarantine on their arrival in Indonesia. Travelers need to show proof of negative results from Covid-19 tests before departure and upon arrival in Bali. Then, there is the visa-on-arrival facility for 42 countries and the Covid-19 vaccination and booster program.

"There has been a surge in hotel bookings from May until August," said Agung.

Tourism diversification

After it was severely affected by the pandemic, suggestions have raised that the Balinese economy is no longer completely dependent on foreign tourism. However, Agung said that the tourism industry and foreign tourists in Bali, which had continued for the last century, was still reliable. "Still tourism, but later it will be [diversified] to medical tourism, sport tourism, farming tourism, so it is not just leisure. The point is to revive the Balinese economy through other ways," he said.

KOMPAS/SYAIFA AMANDA PUTRI LUBIS

The twilight atmosphere in Tanah Lot is one of the tourist attractions of the island of Bali.

I Putu Winastra, the Bali board chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (Asita), said travel agents were ready to sell Bali's diverse potential to various markets, for example, Ubud in Gianyar, with its traditions and culture, northern Bali with its underwater beauty, and Bangli with its nature and tourism villages.

“Asita has 11 market divisions, each with different criteria or specifications. For example, Chinese tourists in Bali prefer [the sea] because [their hometowns are] far from a beach. The French and Danes love exploring culture, customs, villages and mountains,” he said.

Bali currently had are 1,343 CHSE-certified lodging facilities.

In the short term, Asita was still targeting tourists from the three countries that previously contributed greatly to Bali, namely China, India, and Australia. It was also promoting Bali as a destination that is certified for cleanliness, health, safety, and environmental sustainability (CHSE). CHSE certification had been prioritized in line with the overall efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Bali currently had are 1,343 CHSE-certified lodging facilities.

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According to I Nyoman Sudiarta, the travel industry studies coordinator at the tourism faculty of Udayana University in Bali, potential foreign tourists had welcomed the reopening of international travel and lifting of travel restrictions for foreign visitors to the island resort.

"The eased [restrictions] will increase trust that Bali is a safe and healthy tourism destination," he said on Friday (25/3).

The head of Bank Indonesia’s Bali Representative Office, Trisno Nugroho, said that marketing and promotion needed to be intensified, such as through an “Indonesia proud” tourism program that also included Bali.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

The atmosphere of the Kuningan celebration on Serangan Island, Denpasar, Bali.

This would aim to attract more domestic as well as foreign tourists to Bali amidst the competition with other popular destinations in Southeast Asia. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, for example, had all opened their doors to tourism earlier. (XTI/ERK/COK)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)