REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR - Regardless of strained relations between Indonesia and Australia last month, the number of Australian tourists visiting in Indonesia was increasing, an observer said.
"Bali still remains a favorite place to visit by Australian tourists because its geographical location is nearer and security is more insured so that the number of Australian tourists to Bali is increasing," Bali tourism observer Dewa Nyoman Putra said on Friday.
The tourist resort province of Bali is a small island but it has complete tourism destinations such as beaches, mountains and rice fields. All these tourist destinations can be reached in a single day.
Putra who is also a tourism operator said Australian tourists commonly went to Bali with family members to visit Kuta, Seminyak, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa. Only a small percentage visits Ubud which is so far known as an artist village in Bali.
Clean beaches with waves scenes in Bali's southern part still constitutes a favorite tourist destination for Austraian tourists. They come to Bali for holidaying as well as sporting.
Putra said that based on data from Balis tourism service, Australian tourists accounted for 25.31 percent or 754,056 of the total foreign tourists which stood at 2,979,517 visiting Bali in the January - November 2012 period. The number of Australian tourists visiting Bali in October reached 67,680 but sharply increased to 85,158 in November 2013, he said.
Because beach is their main target, they stay in beach areas during their visit in Bali. Only a small numbers or about 16.67 percent stayed in the mountainous regions such as Ubud and Tegallalang tourist resorts, about about 8.89 percent stayed in Denpasar (Bali's provincial capital).
A survey by the Denpasar office of Bank Indonesia (the central bank) on the behavior of 510 Australian tourists in November last year indicated that 95.95 percent of them came to Bali for holidaying while the remaining ones were for a business visit or a MICE (Meeting Incentive Converence Exhibition) event. Therefore, the average length of their stay in Bali reached six days.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika