It has done this by increasing its international tourist arrivals target to 4.5 million in 2023 from 2.3 million in 2022.
To achieve the target, the Bali provincial government is looking at tapping into tourism opportunities from organizing cultural and sports events as well as meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).
According to Bali Deputy Governor Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, in 2022, G20 events had a significant impact on the province's tourist arrivals target.
For 2023, the provincial government has shown its readiness to welcome tourists by issuing a Calendar of Events 2023, initiated by the Tourism Office of Bali.
In early January, the office issued the calendar featuring a total of 66 events comprising 51 cultural events, 13 special interest or sports events, and 2 MICE events.
"Actually, there are many events that have not been listed due to the lack of information from the organizers. I hope there will be earlier and clearer information regarding the implementation of events in Bali," Head of the Bali Tourism Office Tjok Bagus Pemayun said.
If all events are recorded with a definite date and month, it will be easier to carry out promotions together.
In general, the events planned in 2023 are annual events, for example, the Bali Arts Festival, Denpasar Festival, Maybank Marathon, and Ubud Food Festival. However, there are also new events, for example, the Indonesia Time to Speak Up event, which will take place in May.
In 2022, MICE and cultural events contributed the most to Bali's tourism, both in terms of room occupancy and the number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the province.
Therefore, the Bali government is promoting the calendar as a form of its readiness to welcome tourists this year. In addition, all the events will be promoted through Indonesian embassies across the world.
Welcoming Chinese tourists
Besides releasing a calendar of events amid the momentum of the public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy revocation and the subsiding of COVID-19 infections in Bali, the provincial government has also started to welcome tourists from China.
Cheerful smiles were seen on the faces of the governor and deputy governor of Bali while receiving the first batch of Chinese tourists who arrived on a charter flight on January 22, 2023.
China is known as the second largest contributor to international tourist arrivals in Bali. For that reason, the arrival of Chinese tourists to support the achievement of the 2023 international tourist arrivals target is highly anticipated.
A total of 210 Chinese tourists landed in Bali on January 22. They arrived from Shenzhen on an Indonesian airline.
Deputy for Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Ni Made Ayu Marthini said that the arrival of the tourists was a good momentum to recover Chinese tourist arrivals to Bali.
She further said she hoped that more Chinese tourists will visit Bali so that the target of 255,300 Chinese tourist arrivals in 2023 can be topped.
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster noted that the arrival of tourists from China would be able to support the revival of Bali's tourism.
The Bali government is optimistic that the province's tourism can return to normalcy like before the pandemic, with 6.3 million international tourist arrivals or at least 4.5 million international tourist arrivals.
The return of Chinese tourists to Bali was also welcomed by the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Association (Asita) of Bali.
Chairperson of Bali Asita Putu Winastra even called for direct flights from China to Bali by suggesting three routes.
"I had a meeting with (Tourism and Creative Economy) Minister Sandiaga Uno on January 2. We are pushing for direct flights from China, namely from Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing to Bali," he said.
The association sees big potential this year from the routes that have so far become the "machines" of tourist flow from China to Bali.
Regarding the COVID-19 situation in China, Winastra emphasized that the spread of the virus variant has subsided in Beijing as of January this year.
Second booster promotion
While welcoming international tourists, the Indonesian government on January 24 recommended the fourth dose or second booster of the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 years and over.
The Bali government has also started to encourage the second booster vaccination to maintain the immunity of its people.
Residents who have received their first booster are now being targeted for the second booster.
The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bali, which is chaired by Deputy Governor Sukawati, has also opened second booster vaccination posts for tourism players with five thousand vaccine doses readied.
"Regarding the increase in foreign tourist arrivals, the most strategic thing to do is increasing immunity," the Bali PHRI chairperson said.
With the increasing number of tourists, the Bali government is taking measures from two sides: the first is ensuring that international tourists arriving in the province are not sick. Upon their arrival at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, tourists are being made to undergo body temperature checks.
The second measure is increasing the immunity of the community through the second booster vaccination, especially tourism workers and players as they are at the highest risk.
With those measures, Bali is optimistic that the number of international and domestic tourist arrivals and trips will recover to the pre-pandemic status, the economy will move faster, and the community will remain healthy and protected from the virus.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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