"Apart from promoting tourism, it can also help to build connectivity from other countries to enter Indonesia via Bali and Jakarta," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pahala Mansury stated on the sidelines of the opening of the Bali Beyond and Travel Fair (BBTF) tourism exhibition in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday.
His side is collaborating with regional governments and tourism actors, including in Bali Province, to disseminate information on the BBTF to several Indonesian representatives abroad that had been carried out four years ago.
Apart from promoting Bali's tourism, the event can also promote other tourist destinations in Indonesia, Mansury remarked.
"The community wants tourism with different experiences and a sustainable one," he noted.
According to the deputy minister, tourist villages are among the Indonesian tourism destinations that can attract travelers as they prioritize the potential of community-based tourism, thereby providing unique experiences to tourists.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy targets foreign tourist visits in 2024 to reach 17 million people. This number increased as compared to the realization of 11.68 million visits in 2023.
Malaysia is the largest contributor of foreign tourists to Indonesia in 2023, at 16.28 percent, followed by Australia, 12.26 percent; Singapore, 12.11 percent; China, 6.75 percent; and Timor-Leste, 6.24 percent.
Specifically for Bali, the number of foreign tourists in 2023 reached 5.2 million people, with a target of seven million in 2024.
The number of international tourists in 2023 fell short of the pre-COVID-19 figure of 6.4 million in 2019.
In terms of air connectivity to Bali, until May 2024, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali was served by 13 airlines on 19 domestic routes and 36 airlines on 33 international routes.
Shortly, the Abu Dhabi carrier, Etihad, is scheduled to make its inaugural flight to Bali, followed by two South Korean airlines that are planning to add flights to Bali.
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Translator: Dewa Ketut S W, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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