The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will open a new route flying from Denpasar in Bali, to Guangzhou in China this weekend to serve the growing number of Chinese tourists coming to Indonesia, an official said on Friday.

Syamsuddin Jusuf Souib, general manager of the Bali branch PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk, said that starting from Nov. 22, the airline will fly Denpasar-Guangzhou and vice versa three times a week.

The route is part of the company's development strategy to expand its Chinese market.

"The route is expected to meet the demands of people traveling from Bali to Guangzhou and also to provide easier access for Chinese tourists coming to Bali," he said as quoted by state news agency Antara.

According to data from the Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Chinese tourists were the second largest group arriving in Bali after Australians in September this year, accounting for 14.4 percent of 389,060 foreign tourist arrivals that month.

Garuda will use Boeing 737-800 New Generation planes with 12 business-class seats and 150 economy-class seats.

Garuda currently operates direct flights between Jakarta and Guangzhou, Jakarta and Beijing, Jakarta and Shanghai and Denpasar and Beijing.

Syamsuddin said Chinese tourists made around 100 million overseas trips every year, which was a big market potential.

Guangzhou is one of China's busiest cities and it'€™s third biggest city after Beijing and Shanghai, he said.

The flights will also connect Chinese tourists with other Indonesian destinations like Yogyakarta, Makassar, Manado, Labuan Bajo and others.

Besides local cabin crew, there will also be Chinese crew onboard to help with in-flight communication. (rin)(+)

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