More Tourists Are Booking Bali Travel Independent Of Agents

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Once upon a time, tourists would not have dreamed of trying to book a vacation without the help of a travel agent.

In many cases, it simply wasn’t possible for tourists to book flights or even contact hotels abroad to arrange bookings.

In the digital age, all that is changing is impacting travel trends in Bali, too. 

Data collated from top hotel booking sites should show that tourists are not only booking Bali vacations directly with accommodation providers but are staying longer, and bookings are surging.

In a report published by SiteMinder, data shows that travel trends are constantly on the move, especially for tourists planning vacations.

SiteMinder’s 2024 report is “the most authoritative analysis of the bookings made by travelers for hotels in 20 of the world’s most established destinations.” 

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In a press release, the Chief Growth Officer of SiteMinder, Trent Innes, revealed more key insights on travel trends for Indonesia and the rest of the top 20 most popular destinations searched for on the site.

Innes said, “SiteMinder’s data shows that while travelers have regained their confidence and international travel is returning, as is traditional seasonality, traveler behaviors and preferences have changed. Today’s traveler is not the same traveler of years past.”

@luxury.escapes Searching for Bali's best hotel… could this be it? 🌴💖 Book now via Luxury Escapes at the link in our bio. 📌 Location: AYANA Resort Bali (Jimbaran) #LuxuryEscapes #LuxuryTravel #TravelInspo #TravelBali #BaliEscape #BaliGuide #BestHotelsBali #BestInBali #AyanaBali ♬ number one – Casey Baer

He noted “that travelers are happy to spend money beyond the cost of their room, but that increased prices are forcing them to adapt by opting for package deals.”

Interesting tourists in Bali and across the board are not extending their stays at these hotels. This can be attributed to holidaymakers having limited time and the increasing cost of changing flights and travel plans at the last minute. 

The most popular booking sites for tourists planning their trips to Bali are Booking.com, Agoda, and Expedia.

Indonesian-based hotel search engines and comparison sites like Traveloka, tiket.com, and DidaTravel are all also making it into the top ten go-to sites. 

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It’s easy to see why tourists are feeling more confident about booking their vacations in Bali independently of travel agents.

Not only do sites like booking.com and Expedia make it easier than ever for tourists to review prone properties and explore options at their own pace, but the deals on offer are also often the same or better than what travel agents are able to provide. 

For many tourists, especially from Australia, Bali is a real home away from home for tourists. This means that the sense of familiarity is high, and therefore, as is confidence in booking.

The fact that hotel comparison sites also create package deals for tourists also means that confidence in booking can surge. 

With irresistible deals around every corner, the real challenge is actually just to click ‘book’ and not get bogged down into comparing the millions of options there.

This rising trend of tourists booking indecently from travel agents can also be attributed to the widespread use of social media.

Tourists sitting at home dreaming about their escape can easily plan a whole two-week jam-packed itinerary just by flicking through Instagram and TikTok.

Creators and even fellow holidaymakers are quick to upload their experiences to social media to help other travelers along the way. 

Forums on Facebook, or like the Bali Sun Premium Discord chat, are always available to give travelers up-to-the-minute feedback about what’s hot and what’s not, where to book, and where to avoid.

For many tourists, there is also a sense of pride and an increased sense of adventure about booking a vacation entirely independently. 

All this is not to say that tourists should avoid biking with travel agents. Travel agents can access specialist deals that are not available online and deals that are not even available when booking directly with a hotel or resort.

Travel agents can help troubleshoot issues before they’ve even occurred and, of course, save travelers time scrolling to find deals. 

What it does show is that the travel landscape continues to shift and change and that, as ever, Bali remains a destination that can tick every box for every kind of traveler.