BPS: Access To ASEAN Air Transportation Is The Foundation Of Bali Tourism

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) assesses that access to air transportation that connects Bali with ASEAN member countries is the basis for the growth of the tourism sector on the Island of the Gods.

"Tourists from other countries need more effort and higher costs. If they are from the ASEAN region which is closer, of course, this is expected to become a source of Bali's greater foreign exchange," said BPS Bali head Hanif Yahya in Denpasar, quoted from Antara, Saturday 8 April.

According to him, convenience in terms of air transportation from ASEAN to Bali and vice versa is one of the main requirements for increasing the number of foreign tourists on the Island of the Gods.

Apart from opening access for world travelers to Bali, exports from the Island of the Gods are also more easily and quickly absorbed by the ASEAN market as more and more direct flights are opened from a number of countries in Southeast Asia to Bali and vice versa.

"The convenience for tourists visiting Bali can be fulfilled, including the flow of exports and imports which can also be carried out more quickly," he said.

Based on BPS Bali data in February 2023, countries in the Southeast Asia region are among the top five international flight destinations, namely Singapore with 433 flights, Malaysia (377), Thailand (128), Vietnam (128), in the first position occupied by Australia reaching 732 times. flight.

Apart from that, there are also flights from the Philippines and Timor Leste which also serve direct flights to Bali.

Tourists from ASEAN occupy the fourth position with a number approaching 50 thousand people in February 2023, after the European, Oceania, and Asian regions.

Cumulatively, foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in 2022 reached 2.15 million people, a significant increase compared to 2021 reaching only 51 people, after the relaxation of air travel restrictions as the COVID-19 case was under control.

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Of the top 10 foreign tourist arrivals in 2022, ASEAN tourists from Singapore occupy the third position reaching 129 thousand, and Malaysia in eighth position reaching 91 thousand people.

Meanwhile, based on data from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, until April 2023 a number of international airlines continue to request direct flight access to the Island of the Gods, which currently has 26 international routes by 32 airlines.

From ASEAN, countries that have served direct flights to Bali include Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Handy Heryudhitiawan, General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, explained that during January-March 2023, 1.51 million international passengers arrived in Bali with a total of 4.44 million people, an increase of 179 percent compared to the same period in 2021.