REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Emirates Airline plans to attract 30 thousand passengers within a year of opening the new flight route from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to Denpasar, Bali.

This new route is scheduled to be launched on June 3.

Country Manager of Emirates, Indonesia, Satish Sethi said here on Wednesday that the management will capture the European market by opening a direct flight to Bali via Dubai.

"Most foreign tourists visiting Bali are from China and Australia. We hope this direct flight route will provide access for tourists from Europe," Sethi remarked.

The Emirates management aims to draw in 900 thousand to one million passengers from and to Indonesia by the end of 2015.

It planned to launch the direct Dubai--Denpasar flight a long time ago, but will be realizing it on June 3 as a limited flight slot in Bali.

The direct flight connecting Dubai and Indonesia will operate four times a day.

According to Sethi, the number of passengers in the three Jakarta-Dubai flights reaches 600 thousand.

Bali was chosen as one of the destinations because the number of tourists to the province rose by 13 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

"Passengers from Surabaya (East Java) and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara) do not have to fly to Jakarta to travel to Europe. They can just go to Bali," Sethi pointed out.

He pointed out that the management of the airlines was cooperating with the Indonesian Embassy in a number of European countries to promote Bali as one of the tourist destinations that can be accessed with Emirates.

Sethi further noted that the Indonesia to Europe passenger market reaches 35 percent, which indicates that the Dubai-Denpasar flight route will add to the market, including the cargo market.

"Our cargo market records a 30 percent growth. Every week, we load 294 tons of cargo comprising fishery and handicraft products," Sethi revealed.

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