The Bali administration has set an ambitious target of attracting 2.1 million foreign tourists in 2010. Head of the Bali Tourism Board, Ida Bagus Kade Subiksu, told reporters that foreign tourist arrivals had been increasing since early 2009.
"We have seen substantial growth in foreign tourist arrivals," Subiksu said. The island plans to attract 1.9 million tourists this year. As of October 2009, foreign tourist arrivals had reached 1.67 million, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
IB Ngurah Wijaya, chairman of the Bali Tourism Board, responded positively by saying that the target was achievable.
"I believe we can attract 2.1 million foreign tourists considering the island's tourist industry is already rebounding," Wijaya said.
He added that he saw growth in tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy rates, and robust business in tourism-related industries including restaurants and travel agencies.
Your comments:
Have they solved the alcohol shortage? I don't want to be drinking local Vibe, Mansion House etc. I want variety, such as American wines, French, Italian . and spirits. Can we have more of a selection other than Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker and Chivas?
Keith Harding
Jakarta
It is exciting news for Bali and Indonesia, but not for tourists. That will just make the visa-on-arrival process even longer.
You need to get your act together and speed up the process or word of mouth will spread. One and a half hours standing in a queue just to enter the country is crazy.
Warren J
Canberra
Sounds good. Now the challenge is not to create more traffic jams in the city of Denpasar. I am sure traffic jams are not one of the tourist attractions, and if we want to compete with Singapore and other destinations, officials here will have to have a long and hard look at various aspects that this increase will bring to the island.
It is easy to proclaim that we can achieve a target, but we definitely don't want to end up with 2.1 million disappointed visitors. That would be worse than having a low number of visitors.
Kortsleting
Denpasar
This will not happen unless there are some drastic changes in government thinking.
Potential tourists are well-aware of the many problems which will spoil their trip, among others: having to pay for a visa and then it only lasting one month; long queues at immigration, especially when a number of flights arrive at the same time; unavailability of much imported food and alcohol; traffic problems - congestion, pollution and bad driving practices; and corrupt practices especially among officials and the police.
Will Gomm
Denpasar
