Bali may be in the middle of the low season, but demand for travel remains high. While the number of arrivals always dips after the long school holidays, travel data shows that Bali’s popularity is continuing to build and that tourism targets will certainly be smashed this year.
The Central Statistics Agency shared the latest travel figures at the beginning of each month, with a one-month delay for analysis.
The results always make for interesting reading. The Acting Head of the Central Statistics Agency, Amalia Adininggar, held a press conference in Jakarta and explained that cumulative visits by foreign tourists to Indonesia nationwide between January and September 2024 reached 10.37 million, an increase of 20.28 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
Adininggar noted, “However, this number is still lower than the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, which reached 12.10 million visits.”
Travel figures from September show that the highest number of international arrivals to Indonesia hailed from Malaysia, with a total of 234,000 people, closely followed by Australia, with 159,000 visits overall. However, Australian tourists remain the most frequent international arrivals in Bali Province.
The top four most frequent arrivals to Indonesia were completed with tourists from China, with 114,000 people, and Singapore, with 106,000 people.
Looking deeper into the data and drawing comparisons from September 2023, the fastest-growing demographic of travelers is the African travel market.
African passport holders traveling to Indonesia increased by 31% in September 2024 compared to the same period in 2024.
Tourism from ASEAN nations has also increased by 26% in the same period. Overall, tourist visits from the USA have dropped by 4.3%.
The average length of stay is also increasing, with long-haul international tourists staying for increasingly long periods. International tourists now stay an average of 7.43 nights in Indonesia.
Tourists from Southeast Asia tend to bring the overall averages down, as this demographic’s average stay is just 3.39 nights due to the ease of traveling to Bali and other popular destinations in Indonesia for long weekend and short-haul business trips.
Tourists from Africa are showing the longest stays, with an average stay of 13.88 nights.
As for Bali, specifically, the total number of international visits for September was 593,909 people, which is only a small decrease from August 2024, which is still considered the peak of the high season. In August 2024, Bali welcomed 616,64 international tourists to the province.
Tourists from Australia made up 24 % of all international arrivals to Bali Province in September 2024. Closely followed by tourists from China, India, France, and Malaysia respectfully.
Speaking at a press conference in Denpasar, the Acting Head of the Central Statistics Agency for Bali, Kadek Agus Wirawan, explained, “Cumulatively from January to September, we have recorded 4,749,449 visits [to Bali Province], this is higher than 2023, and if you look at before Covid-19, in 2019, this is also cumulatively already higher too.”
In 2019, between January and the end of September, there were 4.6 million visits; in 2024, Bali has already seen an increase of over 100,000 more tourists. As the end of the year approaches, Bali is set to beat its pre-pandemic tourism figures without a doubt.
Typically, over the festive season, over one million international tourists visit Bali Province, in addition to hundreds of thousands of domestic visitors.
An increase in the availability of international flights has helped make it easier for both short-haul and long-haul travelers to visit Bali. In the last month, there has been an intensive effort to increase connectivity between South Korea and Bali, with a series of new direct flight services opening up.
A new daily flight service is now operated between Incheon and Bali, and it is operated by Jeju Air. Upcoming travel figures are expected to see tourists from South Korea crack the top five most frequent international arrivals to Bali.
Speaking at the inaugural Jeju Air Incheon-Bali flight, the General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali Airport, Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, said, “The number of South Korean nationals recorded as arriving through I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali during 2024 did show positive growth.”
“In the first quarter, it was recorded at 64,700 people, in the second quarter 66,000 people, and the highest in the third quarter was 89,000 people.”
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Exp
Wednesday 6th of November 2024
Great! But why not spend some of the riches at the airport. From last week departure: 1. Uncomfortably warm and humid inside 2. No signage at immigrations for KITAS or KITAP desks or officer to direct. 3. No water for any of the faucets for toilet at gate 7. Let me guess: The airport boss has access to a perfectly cleaned and functioning toilet, so then no issue? 4. Dirty carpets everywhere 5. Rip off prices for food and drinks. This is the real "tourist tax".
Shorty
Friday 8th of November 2024
@Exp,
They say there are glass half full or glass half empty people. For me that's bullshit. What's left in the bottle is far more important. Reading your posts has convinced me there's another group. 'Where's my glass' and 'That wine is crap'.
Shorty
Friday 8th of November 2024
@Exp
1. Better than outside 2. If you've been thru before you don't need signs. 1st time there's staff you can ask. 3. So some water problems at a toilet. Happens everywhere, not just airports. Very few places have plumbers on instant call. 4. I've been thru 8 times in the last 6 weeks. I don't agree 5. Name me any airport world wide where the prices inside immigration aren't high. And why Bali is disproportionally higher.
And now a challenge... Give me 5 reasons you keep coming back and are happy to do so.
Paul
Wednesday 6th of November 2024
So all more tourists than expected and and not one bit of extra infrastructure in place to accommodate them Must be close to 3 billions collected and still no word on the tax money grabbing politicians how and when it going to be spent
M
Wednesday 6th of November 2024
Once a week comes the news nobody needs. Just do your job and don't hype it up that much... it seems already like in Indonesia bule are welcome only for 30 days.