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espite the deadly terror attack in Jakarta last month, tourism players in Bali are predicting that the number of tourist arrivals to the popular resort island will still increase by a healthy margin this year, thanks to the government'€™s free-visa policy and the anticipated opening of new flights to and from the region.

The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies'€™ (ASITA) Bali chapter, Ketut Ardana, said he was optimistic that the island could meet the government'€™s target of 4.2 million foreign tourist arrivals in Bali this year, with visitors from Australia and China contributing significantly to the figure.

'€œMore Chinese travelers are expected to come to Bali following the government'€™s recent free-visa policy and the opening of new direct flights from several cities in China to Bali. The number might even surpass Australians visiting Bali in the next few years,'€ Ardana said over the weekend.

The latest data from the Bali Tourist Agency recorded 4,001,654 foreign tourist arrivals throughout 2015, a 6.2 percent increase from the previous year'€™s number. The figure also slightly exceeded last year'€™s target of 4 million foreign tourist arrivals.

The data, meanwhile, showed that Australian and Chinese citizens collectively made up 41 percent of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali throughout 2015, with 965,330 and 687,633 arrivals, respectively.

The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association'€™s (PHRI) Bali chapter head Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati said tourism stakeholders on the island were upbeat that foreign tourist arrivals this year would increase by between 10 and 12 percent compared to last year, with the total number of visitors reaching up to 4.8 million.

The estimate, he said, was realistic, considering the government had intensified tourist promotions overseas and would soon implement the free-visa policy for citizens from 174 countries.

'€œLast year, foreign tourist arrivals only increased by 7 percent partly due to a series of natural disasters on Java and Bali. But this year, we are optimistic that the increase could be as high as 10-12 percent,'€ he said.

Last year, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia expanded its operations in China by opening direct flights from Shanghai to Bali and to Jakarta, in addition to existing routes connecting the island with Beijing and Guangzhou.

Flights connecting Australia to Bali, meanwhile, continue to come and go.

Tigerair Australia is awaiting clearance to serve Bali routes from Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth starting in March this year, replacing Virgin'€™s loss-making routes. Qantas, meanwhile, is back after a seven-year hiatus with seasonal Sydney-Bali flights.

Last month, local tourism players reported that activities on the country'€™s most popular resort island were running as normal despite the terror attack on Jan. 14 in Jakarta that claimed the lives of eight people, including four attackers, and injured dozens.