More tourists visiting Bali in first semester

DENPASAR: As many as 1.3 million foreign tourists visited Bali in the first semester of 2011, a 10.46 percent increase from the same period in 2010.

“Of the island’s 10 top-market countries, eight show significant increases,” National Statistics Bureau (BPS) Bali chapter head Gede Suarsa said.

In the first semester of 2010, 1.18 million foreign tourists visited Bali.

The tourists mostly came from Australia, China, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Britain, France and the United States.

“We recorded a decrease in the number of visitors from two countries, Japan and Taiwan,” he added.

Australia was still atop the list with 384,489 tourists visiting Bali, a 25.33 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

“Since 2009, the number of Australian visitors has steadily increased, toppling Japan, which is still reeling from the global financial crisis and the devastating quake and tsunami,” he added.