The number of Russian tourists visiting Bali dropped more than 50 percent in December, compared to 2007, due to the global financial crisis, a trend that may last beyond 2008, a noted travel agent association said.
Head of the Bali Privete travel agent association, Iwan Taruna, said less than a quarter of the travel agents in Bali handling Russian tourists had concrete confirmed reservations for Russian tourists with the island's hotels, a massive reduction from last year numbers in the same month.
"Most of the travel agents could only commit lists of names, some of which were still tentative, so cancellations could still happen," Taruna said.
"What's even more worrying is that this trend may last further beyond the first quarter of next year because Russian tourists rarely visit Bali in January and February, while reservations for March and the months after remain low."
The number of Russian tourists tends to spike in December, which coincides with a number of holidays. Hotels and travel agents prize Russian tourists because they tend to stay longer -- an average of 10 to 14 days -- and can spend up to US$1,500 (Rp 18 million) per person.
"This December is bad. We predict that the number of Russian tourists will dip even lower than 50 percent," Iwan said.
In the same month last year, as many as 6,000 Russian tourists visited the island.
Iwan said the number would continue to drop while the global financial crisis persisted, optimistically predicting that the worst effects could peak by around mid 2009.
He said that while Russians could afford holidays in Bali, most have opted to live a more thrifty life-style for now given the discouraging economic conditions.
In response, Bali Privete, which represents 18 travel agencies, plans to add more bonus packages and cheaper trips.
"It's not that we're having a 'sale'. Think of it as bonuses or rewards to thank those visitors who have trusted Bali as their holiday destination during all these years."
He further urged tourists guides to learn more Russian, due to a perceived scarcity in the number of Russian speaking tourists guides.
"Ideally, we should have one guide for 10 tourists, but for Russian tourists, one guide tends to end up working to service 100 people not because we have fewer guides but because there have been a lot more Russian tourists coming," he said.
Russia is considered a growing market for Bali's tourism industry. The number of Russian tourists has been stable, with an average of 4,000 Russian visitors per month this year.
The Russian government has further been praised for its cooperation with Bali's tourism industry, allowing two direct flights per week from Moscow to Denpasar.
