Bali promoted as potential destination for cruise ships

As the world’s cruise tourism market is estimated to rise 25 percent by 2014, tourist operators say Bali is a promising location to develop as a world-class destination for cruise ships since the resort island boasts diverse attractions.

Bali has been included as a transit point in the voyages of international cruise ships with almost every ship exploring Asia stopping over on the island, said Ida Bagus “Lolec” Surakusuma of PT Pacific World Nusantara.

“Bali has long been popular as a cruise destination for Asia, as well as Komodo Island, Makassar, Semarang and Jakarta. Ships serving the Hongkong-Singapore route always break their journeys with a stop in Indonesia, including Bali,” Lolec said.

Sapta Nirwandar, director general of marketing at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, agreed that there had been significant development in the country’s cruise tourism market over the last eight years.

The number of trips has increased to more than 90, up from around 20 trips in 2002.

“Along with Bali, Jakarta, Lombok and Semarang, the routes have also expanded to Kalimantan, Sumatra and surrounding islands,” Sapta added.

The Bali Tourism Agency recorded an increase in the arrivals of foreign tourists and ship crews in seaports, from 10,370 in 2009 to 43,758 last year.

Lolec said some cruise ships also made stopovers to less popular destinations in the country, including those in Bali. Beside visiting popular spots such as Kuta, they also stopped at Karangasem and Buleleng.

He said the most common routes were Australia–Komodo Island– Bali–Semarang–Singapore or Singapore–Brunei–Kuching–Manado–Ujung Pandang–Bali–Komodo Island–Australia.

Cruise tourism has also began targeting the growing market of middle- and low-income visitors.

“Cruise operators have purchased new ships to cater to the upper end of the market. The old ships are refurbished and used to serve the middle- and low-income market,” he said.

Most of the tourists have come from the US and Europe, but those from other continents have shown an increasing interest in cruise trips.

Bali Tourism Agency head Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu said the main obstacle in developing cruise tourism for the island was the lack of infrastructure at seaports.

He expected Karangasem’s Tanah Ampo, a seaport constructed specifically for cruise ships, could commence operation in the near future, while Denpasar’s Benoa Port would be developed as a turn-around spot for cruise ships.

Benoa is considered a suitable place for turnaround due to its strategic position for ship routes sailing the southern parts of Asia and Australia. It is located 963 nautical miles from Darwin and 924 nautical miles from Singapore.

Data from Benoa Port office shows that on average 20 percent of a cruise ship’s passengers disembark at ports, with each tourist spending US$45 at every stop. It also reveals that ship crews, accounted for 40 percent of passengers and spent around $30 each.