Open The Consulate General In Bali Later This Year, 700 Thousand Russian Tourists Are Expected To Come To Indonesia

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov. (VOI / Fauzi)

JAKARTA - About 700 thousand Russian tourists are expected to visit Indonesia, along with the opening of the country's Consulate General in Denpasar, Bali later this year.

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov said Russia plans to open a Consulate General in Denpasar, Bali this year.

He said this was taken in line with the large number of Russian citizens visiting Bali. It is also intended to facilitate services for Russian citizens on the Island of the Gods.

"The government of the Russian Federation has taken the decision to open the Russian Federation Consulate General in Bali," said the Tolchenov Ambassador in Jakarta, Tuesday, August 20.

He said that later there would be direct flights from Moscow to Bali, citing Russian airline Aeroflot, which he considered would increase the arrival of Russian citizens.

"I have no right to predict, but maybe around 700 thousand," said Ambassador Tolchenov, when asked about the estimated number of tourists to come.

He then gave an overview with a target of around 2 million tourists in Thailand, along with the opening of the Consulate General in Phuket last year.

Citing Interfax, the Russian Consulate General in Phuket, Thailand opened in July 2023. This year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) targets the arrival of around 2 million Russian tourists, quoted from Thailandelitevisas.

"The flight from Russia to Thailand takes about 9 hours. The flight to Bali takes about 13 hours, four hours longer, that's further," said Ambassador Tolchenov.

Citing BPS data, the number of tourists from Russia who came to Indonesia last year reached 161,323 people.