Bali experiences sluggish tourist market

Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 09/03/2010 9:28 AM

A drop in the number of visitors to the island from Japan, France, South Korea and Malaysia decreased in the first half of the year has been blamed on security, economic and health issues.

Bali Tourism Agency head Ida Bagus Subhiksu cited various reasons for hurting visitor numbers from these countries.

“The increasing crime rate and the outbreak of rabies here, as well as economic conditions in those countries are among the main causes,” Subhiksu said.

The agency says that the number of Japanese tourists to Bali fell 23.1 percent to 143,060 between January and July this year, compared to 186,029 in the same period last year.

There has also been a spate of crimes against Japanese tourists — female visitors in particular — in the popular Kuta area in the last few months.

The Bali administration and Bali Police have pledged to provide security for international and domestic tourists spending their holidays on the island.

The number of Malaysians traveling to Bali has also dropped 2.09 percent from 83,809 in the first half of 2009 to 82,059 persons in the same period this year.

The number of South Korean visitors also decreased 3.5 percent from 74,055 in the first half of 2009 to 71,446 in the same period this year.

Meanwhile, the number of French tourists dropped slightly 1.63 percent from 59,488 to 58,518.

However, Bali has experienced a significant increase in the number of tourist arrivals from its five major markets: Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, the UK and the Netherlands.

Australia made up the largest number of tourist arrivals to Bali with a 50,87 percent increase from 222,401 in the first half of 2009 to 343,091 in the same period this year.

The Taiwanese market also flourished, with a 13.84 percent rise from 69,353 to 78,940.

The number of British visitors went up 21.13 percent, Singaporean tourist numbers shot up 56.25 percent and the Dutch market expanded 29.14 percent.

Subhiksu said direct flights from Europe to Bali contributed to the significant increase in visitors from the Netherlands and the UK.

Garuda Indonesia resumed its Amsterdam route a few months ago, helping bring in more tourists from the Netherlands.

Bali Tourism Board chairman Ngurah Wijaya said Bali had to improve its security condition and facilities to lure back international travelers, especially from Europe.

“Bali must exploit its maximum potential because each market has different characteristics,” he said.

For example, he said, European tourists were big spenders but those countries were quite far from Bali, whereas Asian tourists spent less but arrived in larger numbers.

Wijaya also suggested that Bali had to focus more on attracting domestic tourists.

He said that Indonesia’s population of 230 million represented a huge market. “Domestic tourists have saved Bali during slow periods, therefore we have to pay very serious attention to the domestic market,” Wijaya said.

During school and religious holidays such as Idul Fitri and Christmas, thousands of domestic visitors visit the island.

Wijaya said hotel occupancy rates in Bali were high. Hotels in Kuta had a daily occupancy rate of 86.99 percent, similar to hotels in Nusa Dua. In Ubud, the average occupancy rate reached 77.27 percent.