Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is welcoming the return of China Airlines to the tarmac this week. As Indonesia’s second busiest airport, and the country’s top tourism destination, resuming direct connections with Taiwan will be a relief for vast swathes of the tourism sector.
The General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Handy Heryudhitiawan, confirmed the addition of China Airlines to the Bali Airport flight schedule. The airline’s operation in Bali was bought to a quick halt early in the pandemic.
The flight service will relaunch on Friday, 2nd September, and operate twice weekly. The flight offering is a direct route from Taipei in Taiwan to Denpasar every Tuesday and Friday. It is possible to fly Taipei-Denpasar any day of the week. However, a layover in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, or Jakarta is needed.
Heryudhitiawan told local reporters that his teams were preparing a welcoming committee for the airline. There were rumors of a water canon salute similar to that awarded to returning airlines like Emirates earlier in the year. The Airport General Manager shared his hopes for this resumed flight service’s impact on tourism in Bali. He said he hopes it will give travelers from across Taiwan a renewed enthusiasm for visiting the Island of the Gods.
He said, ‘Yes, I hope this is a breath of fresh air in increasing visits. Moreover, in the past, China was number one’. While travelers from Australia have long been the highest number of visitors to Bali, tourism from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan was increasing near exponentially before the pandemic.
There is hope that this new flight schedule will be the first significant step in making it easier for tourists from Taiwan to enjoy Bali after the resumption of the visa on arrival program.
The Stakeholder Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Taufan Yudhistira, spoke with reporters to share updates about Bali Airport’s current flight offering. He said that as of August 2022, 23 airlines are serving 22 international routes from 12 countries from Ngurah Rai International.
He compared this to the operation before the pandemic, where there were 35 airlines offering direct flights to Denpasar. There are 12 airlines that have yet to return to the tarmac, and it is hoped that plans will fall into place to reopen the remaining schedules soon.
Key departure countries like Russia, New Zealand, and Brunei are yet to resume a direct service. Direct flights from the UK and other parts of Europe would also positively impact tourism figures.
Tafun confirmed that from January to July 2022, Bali Airport served 1,270,890 passengers. In 2019 for the same time period, the airport welcomed 7,933,976 international passengers alone. He ended his statement by saying, ‘With the operation of the China Airlines airline, it is hoped that it can revive international passenger movements.
The resumption of the China Airlines service to Denpasar comes just days after the Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Countries, HE Deng Xijun, met with Bali Governor Wayan Koster. The pair discussed the future of tourism, education, and the upcoming G20 Summit in November. There are speculations whether the resumption of Taiwan’s China Airline’s flight schedule and the visit from the ambassador will lead to direct flights from Bali to mainland China being rescheduled.
Governor Koster told Ambassador Xijun, ‘We will wait for the return of tourists from China, which before the pandemic was one of the countries from which most tourists came to Bali. I beg the Honorable Ambassador to encourage the Chinese government to allow their citizens to Bali’.
Ambassador Xijun replied, ‘I believe that with time and recovery, Chinese tourists will come back to Bali…I also congratulate you on the post-pandemic handling and recovery, which I consider extraordinary so that now conditions are conducive [for the return of Chinese tourists]’.
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Wijaya
Tuesday 6th of September 2022
This is so embarrassing for everyone involved in the writing of this story. The writer obviously doesn’t know that China airlines is not based in China. Let me be clear here. China airlines is from Taiwan. Air China is from mainland China. Two totally different airlines. It will be awhile before mainland Chinese people are allowed to travel out side of their country again.
J West
Monday 5th of September 2022
China is the only country with mass Covid lock downs in effect. Are Balines ready for Chinas newest wave of diseases?
tim
Tuesday 6th of September 2022
@J West, I'm not sure if you're aware that your bigotry is itself a disease. Those from China or anywhere, for that matter, have no control over virus nor do we know for sure how they are infected. For all we know, you could have been spreading it to them. I know some people reading your comment could be infected by your hatred and discriminating, condescending attitude. You shouldn't spread them in Bali. Learn some respect for all humankind, regardless of nationality or race.
Exp
Monday 5th of September 2022
The Bali Airport Managers refers to "travelers from across China and its territories". What territories is he thinking about? To be clear; China Airlines belongs to Taiwan (ROC, Republic of China). A country different from China (PRC, Peoples Republic of China). Flights from PRC are not expected as PRC still pursue zero covid.
Neil gill
Monday 5th of September 2022
Really they arrive on pre paid trips in China they do not walk the streets and spend money with local vendors. Pre arranged meals pre arrange bus tours to Chinese owned businesses, really does not help the local conomy as much as you think.
Karen North
Monday 5th of September 2022
The Chinese contributed little to the general economy pre Covid. They come in Packages that mean they never step outside and spend money in the community. Only the package providers benefit financially. The hotels are Chinese owned, the huge food halls are Chinese owned etc. The tourist even had his money converted to vouchers so that they didn't even use rupiah. (Would a Chinese family rent a villa? Would they jump in a taxi and go shopping or dining on their own. And I don't believe I have ever seen a Chinese tourist in Lovina). Pre covid, Dec 2019, the government was looking to stop all of this to deter the Chinese tourist who gave nothing to Bali, yet their monies flowed to China. Now the government want them back. Bali doesn't need the packaged Chinese.
Shorty
Thursday 8th of September 2022
@Karen North, They do contribute a lot to the economy. They were the number one or two before covid. That's a lot of VOA. So they stay at Chinese owned hotels, shop at Chinese owned shops, move around in Chinese owned transport. That's still a lot of tax. Most of the employees will be local. A lot of food which is in the main locally sourced. Doesn't matter who owns the bus, the fuel comes from Pertamina. The souvenirs, gifts, whatever that they buy are in the main locally produced. Besides, most of the higher end hotels and restaurants are owned or run by offshore international hotel chains. Many of the restaurants are foreign owned and operated. Pre covid, many Balinese enterprises like watersports etc build their businesses by preselling packages to Chinese and other nationality tour operators.
tim
Wednesday 7th of September 2022
@Paul Morris, I have had lengthy conversations with local tour operators. Chinese are the biggest spenders, by far. They are shoppers, unlike majority of western visitors who prefer the beach, the sun and nature. Unscrupulous Chinese tour operators know this too well. Hence, they are willing to reduce the prices of their tour packages to less than $100 per head for a 4-day tour package (2 nights, really). In return, the poor tourists have been exploited and subjected to visiting Chinese-owned establishments. Some do get to visit select local ones and supermarkets too, however less frequent that could be. I have seen many at Carrefour. The local tour guides get most commissions out of Chinese groups at both Chinese and local-owned shops. Due to the amount of money their spending, all of these guides can afford expensive watches, latest iphones, original branded bags/clothes and even houses. The local guides, working with the Chinese operators, tend to discourage the unsuspecting tourists from venturing out on their own, instilling unfounded fears. A Chinese tourist asked me once if it was true if Bali was not safe to travel alone. His local tour guide told him so. Good to know that the government of Bali is cracking down on their operation. I have seen many closed down now, but whether they will reopen, that remains to be seen.
Paul Morris
Tuesday 6th of September 2022
@Karen North, I totally agree with everything you have said the Chinese bring absolutely nothing to Bali in the way other countries tourists do. There won’t be too many coming to Bali millions are in lockdown and their Zero Covid policy will never succeed.