Bali takes the Lion’s Share of International Tourist Visitors, Outpacing Jakarta.

Bali by the Numbers: Arrivals Through April 2011 Setting New Records Despite Collapse of Japanese Market.

(6/6/2011)

Arrival figures show 221,014 foreign tourists came to Bali in April 2011 – an increase of 23.78% over April 2010. On a year-to-date basis for the first four months of 2011, there were 826,827 foreign visitors, a figure 13.30% ahead of the same period in 2010.

If growth figures are sustained until the end of 2011, Bali will welcome a record number of more than 2.8 million visitors for the entire year.

Performance by Main Markets

·Japan – the effects of the devastating March 11th earthquake and tsunami was driven home by Japanese arrival figures for April that dropped 29.9% to 12,182 visitors. On a cumulative basis for January – April 2011 the results are even more disheartening, dropping 35.06%. Another measure of the shifting fortunes of Japan in terms of Bali tourism arrivals is the fact that Japan has slipped from first to third place in the rankings after Australia and the People’s Republic of China. Moreover, Japanese arrivals are now almost half of what they were in 2008.

· Australia – At 66,429 Australian visitors in April, arrivals month on month increased 55.32%. Year-on-year Australian arrivals are up an impressive 35.06%. If Australian growth figures are sustained through year’s end, Bali will end the year with 875,000 Australia visitors.

· Taiwan – Taiwan’s is staging a modest recovery. Despite being down year-on-year by 12.28%, April arrivals at 10,893 improved 5.13% over the same month in 2010.

· People’s Republic of China – Surigng ahead to become the third largest source of foreign visitors to Bali, mainland Chinese totaled 14,215 visitors in April 2011, improving 10.82% over April 2010. Year-on-year arrivals for 2011 are virtually even with the first four months of 2010.

· Malaysia – remains a strong source of short-term visitors to Bali. April arrivals ex Malaysia improved 3.7% with 12,389 visitors. Year-on-year for the first four months of 2011, Malaysian arrivals hit 52,510 – an improvement of 27.63% over the first four months of 2010.

· Russia -Russian travels are destined to keep climbing in the ranks of top foreign visitors to Bali. April Russian visitors totaled 5,056 – increasing 35.9% over April 2010. Year-on-year Russian arrivals are up 25.79%.

· Netherlands – The Dutch market continues to soften. Month-on-month Dutch arrivals for April 2011 increased a modest 3.8% to 5,369. Year-on-year Dutch arrivals have declined an overall 14.01% over the first four months of 2011.

·France – Good news from France as April arrivals month-on-month increased 23.9% with 10,212 French visitors. Year-on-year French visitors have increased 7.62% during the first four months of 2011.

· U.S.A. – U.S. arrivals continue to improve. April arrivals at 7,485 represents a 16.24% improvement over April 2010. Year-on-year U.S. arrivals are up 7.6%.

· Germany – Year-on-year German arrivals are largely flat, April arrivals may herald a modest recovery underway ex Germany improving 17.9% in April with 7,290 visitors from that market.

· United Kingdom – In the words of Paul Revere: “The English are coming!” April arrivals from the U.K. at 11,604 were up 48.82% over April 2010. Year-on-year U.K. arrivals are up 15.40% through the end of April 2011.

Growth by Geographical Area

All areas of the world are showing traffic growth. Through the end of April 2011, the ASEAN market has grown 32.66%, followed by the Americas (up 23.57%), Asia-Pacific (up 10.95%) and Europe (up 8.41%).

Article Source: www.balidiscovery.com

The Indonesian Hotels and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bali head Perry Markus has predicted that during the long holiday period (which began yesterday) the island would see a sharp rise in domestic tourism.

Hoping for a repeat of last years numbers, Perry cited the four areas of Kuta, Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud to become busy with Indonesian tourists. “At the moment, hotel occupancy rates are 60%, and we expect to see a further rise on Friday,” he said yesterday.

Meanwhile Candy Juliani, Public Relations for Hotel Sanur Beach revealed that the occupancy has increased since last week. “Our hotel is at maximum occupancy until Sunday. Guests who booked come from many cities in Indonesia like Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, and Bandung. There are also many foreign tourists.”

Anticipating this long holiday, Garuda Airways have put on extra flights, particularly along the Denpasar-Jakarta route. “This coming Sunday we’ve added three more flights,” explained Garuda spokesperson Jubi Prasetyo yesterday.

Source: The Beat Mag

According to a local official, United States President Barrack Hussein Obama plans to attend the regional East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali this November.

Bali provincial government spokesman Ketut Teneng claims that US Ambassador Scot Marciel has advised regional authorities of Obama’s intended visit.”On Wednesday afternoon, the Bali governor met with the US ambassador. He was informed that President Obama would visit Bali this November to attend the East Asia Summit,” Teneng said.

“Security will be coordinated by the central government, the National Police and related institutions,” Governor Pastika said.

The summit will be held on November 19, and will also be attended by China and Russia as well as all other member states. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to be at a forum for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in July.

The US embassy has yet to officially confirm both visits.     (Source: The Beat Mag)