Australian tourists, Tourism stakeholders in Bali

Europe (comprising around 50 countries) contributed 22.14 percent, ASEAN with 9 countries contributed 12.85 percent, Africa with 38 countries contributed 0.66 percent, the Americas with 32 countries contributed 5.03 percent, and the Middle East with 28 countries contributed 0.28 percent.

Although during the first four months of this year the percentage of Australian tourists decreased by 4.02 percent compared to the same period last year, it still contributed 25.17 percent to total arrivals, at 962,940 tourists.


Tourism stakeholders in Bali should be able to retain Australia as the largest contributor of foreign tourists to the island, travel agents have said.During the last few years, Australia has contributed the largest number of tourists to Bali, exceeding areas including Europe, the Americas, ASEAN, Africa and the Middle East.In 2012, Australian tourists accounted for 28.49 percent of the total 2,892,019 foreigners visiting Bali.

Krisna Teja, division head of the Australian market at the Association of Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Bali chapter, said tourism stakeholders should work hard to retain Australian tourists as the biggest market, considering that slight changes in the market could have a significant impact on Bali.

He cited the condition when, for years, Japan was the largest tourist contributor, many hotels, travel agents, restaurants and art shops relied heavily on the Japanese. However, this impacted significantly on business when their numbers began to decrease for reasons including the global financial crisis, the tsunami, and the halt of direct flights by Japan Airlines.

“Indeed, we need to focus on a certain market, but we also need to anticipate conditions by expanding to other markets and innovating our products,” said Teja, who has been managing PT Bali Travel Service, a travel agency serving mainly Australian tourists, for 20 years.

He was optimistic that Australian tourists would continue to visit Bali for a variety of reasons, including their favorite beaches and the easy access with the availability of many direct flights. He said wholesalers and retail agents in Australia were also optimistic that Bali would remain a favorite destination.

“However, some Australian tourists now prefer holidaying to Europe and America as the Australian dollar is strong. Therefore, we have to intensify promotion to Australia through various new strategies to attract first-time visitors.”

Stephanie Gunawan, analyst with Bank Indonesia for Bali and Nusa Tenggara, agreed that Bali should expand its market.

She said the growth in foreign tourist arrivals during 2012 had been slowing significantly. Although still showing an increase of 4.91 percent, growth was lower than the previous three years: 10.57 percent in 2011, 11.80 percent in 2010 and 13.26 percent in 2009.

Sources : http://www.thejakartapost.com/bali-daily/2013-05-23/bali-should-work-attract-more-australian-tourists.html