Tourists prefer South Bali for year-end holiday

Despite the numerous interesting destinations in East and North Bali, South Bali remains the most popular spot for tourists spending their year-end holidays on the island, with Kuta attracting the most visitors.

Ketut Ardana from the Bali Travel Agents Association said tourists usually stayed in South Bali because most agents offered travel packages offering destinations in the southern part of the island, especially those with beach views.

 However, they also offer packages to other locations, including Bedugul, Ubud and Kintamani.

“Not many travel agents take tourists to Karangasem, Jembrana and Buleleng. Besides, the local administrations there have not actively promoted their destinations despite the potential,” Ardana said.

Tourist attractions in East, West and North Bali are interesting, he added, naming well-preserved
Balinese traditional houses in Penglipuran (Klungkung) and Tenganan (Karangasem), the royal water parks in Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung (Karangasem) and dolphins in Lovina (Buleleng).

“There are also many interesting agriculture tourist destinations and other panoramic spots, but they are not offered as main attractions in tour packages but as optional tours,” he said.

He said his association had encouraged travel agents to offer packages that included destinations throughout Bali, called the Bali Round Trip, in the hope that all areas of the island would enjoy an increase in tourist numbers.

Ardana, who manages Bali Sinar Mentari Tour & Travel, said tourists most interested in the five-day/four-night Bali Round Trip were Europeans and Americans.

The package includes a two-night stay in Kuta, Nusa Dua or Denpasar with day trips to Ubud, Bedugul and Tanah Lot.

The last two nights are spent in Kintamani (Bangli), Candidasa or Amed (Karangasem), Lovina (Buleleng) and surrounding areas.

“Actually, tourists from other countries are also interested in the package, but they don’t take it because they don’t have enough time in Bali,” Ardana said, adding that Asian tourists usually stayed only four days in Bali, unlike Europeans who stayed longer.

Hadi Sutrisno, also from the association, added that domestic tourists who visited Bali in groups or
with family only stayed three to four days. Most of them choose the usual packages, which cover only
South Bali.

“The packages only include Kuta, Sanur, Sukawati, Bedugul and Tanah Lot. Although some packages include East and North Bali,” he said.

Tini, a domestic tourist, said she had always wanted to go to eastern Bali.

“Every time I’ve visited Bali, I have only gone to Sanur, Kuta, Bedugul, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu and GWK [Garuda Wisnu Kencana] cultural park. But now we are spending one day in Karangasem. Besides Tirta Gangga, we have visited Tenganan and will go to Taman Ujung,” said the mother of two from Yogyakarta.

Natalie of Italy said she and her friends spent one night in Candidasa and traveled around Karangasem. “It is a great place, beautiful and not crowded.”

Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu, the head of the Bali Tourism Agency, said the agency had promoted all potential destinations on the island through the Internet, brochures, CDs and presentations in many events here and abroad.

“We have promoted all destinations, but the arrival rate will depend on travel agents, who have direct contact with tourists,” he said.