"Hopefully, this can accelerate the target for foreign tourist visits to Indonesia,” assistant deputy for foreign tourism marketing II at the ministry, Yulia, said during a visit to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung district, Bali, on Thursday.
She said that the airlines include TUI Airways, which is planning to operate flights from South Korea, and Jetstar Australia, which is seeking to launch flights from Newcastle, Australia. Another airline is considering a direct route from Sichuan, China, to Bali.
However, she did not disclose when these direct flights would begin.
Yulia expressed hope that tourists arriving in Bali would also take the opportunity to explore other destinations across Indonesia.
If the plan to add new routes materializes, it could help meet this year’s target for foreign tourist arrivals, she added.
The Tourism Ministry is aiming to attract between 14.6 million and 16 million foreign tourists to Indonesia in 2025.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the country recorded 4.33 million foreign tourist arrivals from January to April 2025—an increase of 5.60 percent compared to the same period last year.
Air travel remains the primary entry mode, with three million foreign tourists arriving by air. Of those, more than two million entered via Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. Meanwhile, Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta received 725,652 tourist arrivals, and Juanda Airport in Surabaya welcomed 81,771.
As of June 2025, a total of 52 airlines operate flights to Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, 47 of which serve international routes.
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Translator: Dewa Ketut Sudiarta Wiguna, Cindy Frishanti Octavi
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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