Increased Flight Services Will Make It Easier For European Tourists To Reach Bali 

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As the New Year is officially in motion, Bali Airport is looking into the next 12 months and filling in the flight schedule.

The Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno says at least three new international routes will be added in 2024. 

Speaking to reporters Minister Uno revealed that it is about to get easier for European tourists to travel to Bali.

Minister Uno said that three airlines have proposed new flight routes to Bali that are now up for evaluation by Bali Airport, the airlines and Angkasa Pura I, the state-owned enterprise responsible for the management of Bali Airport. 

Minister Uno said, “We are making all our efforts in 2024 for additional flights to Bali, and we have made this happen already ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. The newly proposed flights will also make it easier than ever for Chinese tourists to visit Bali. 

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The three route updates that have been proposed are increases to the Istanbul-Bali-Istanbul with Turkish Airlines to three times weekly.

This is in addition to the introduction of Shanghai-Bali-Shanghai with Juneyao Airlines on the 20th January 2024.

And there are now calls to increase the Abu Dhabi-Bali-Abu Dhabi service with Etihad that is due to start in April 2024. 

Minster Uno said “Additionally connectivity from this number of flights can reach the main quality tourism markets, namely Australia, America, Europe and Asia.

Data from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport shows that 21.4 million passengers were served in total in 2023 over the international and domestic terminals. This was an increase of 71% on 2022, and in 2024, officials want to see this increase once again. 

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As of December 2023, Bali Airport was serving 18 domestic routes by 11 airlines, and 29 international routes by 34 airlines.

Again, this is all set to increase in 2024. Indonesia has set an overall target of welcoming 14 million intentional arrivals this year, and Bali as a province is targeting 7 million international visitors, which would see travel numbers reach their pre-pandemic targets too. 

As Bali Airport is set to be busier than ever in 2024, officials are putting new systems in place to keep travelers moving through the terminals quickly and comfortably.

Tourists are now encouraged to apply for their visa on arrival online prior to arriving in Bali. The process of applying for the eVOA is super simple. 

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Tourists who have applied for and been granted an eVOA will be able to use the new auto-gates at Bali Airport.

Tourists will only have to scan their passports at the auto-gates, the scanner will read the passport, and the camera will use facial recognition to confirm each person’s identity.

This should help speed up the arrival process. Tourists will still have the option to be processed at immigration at staffed counters, all of which will be open and operating at peak times. 

The installation of the auto-gates and the move towards a digitalized immigration system are all part of Director General of Immigration Silmy Karim’s mission to make Indonesia’s immigration department a world glass, gold standard operation.

This, he says, will benefit both citizens and tourists. 

Although late last year, Minster Uno suggested that visa-free travel for Bali’s top international tourists could be reintroduced, no changes have been made as of yet.

With the general election coming up on the 14th February, it is unlikely that any big legislative changes will be made in the next few weeks. 

With over half a million more tourists set to visit Bali in 2024, officials are looking at tourism infrastructure across the island.

Leaders are proposing that a dedicated airport lane be assigned on the Mandara Toll Road to ensure that tourists will always be able to get to the airport on time for their flights.