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Flights to Bali fall by 30 percent: Inaca
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Thick smoke emanates from the crater of Mount Agung in Karangasem, Bali, as it erupted again on Nov. 25. (Courtesy of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency/File)
D
ecember is usually peak season for the tourism industry, but the Indonesian National Aviation Association (Inaca) has told kontan.co.id that flights to Bali had declined by about 30 percent as a result of the ongoing Mount Agung eruption.
Inaca flight affairs head Bayu Sutanto said on Tuesday in Jakarta that the trend would continue into early next year, because the volcano remained at a high alert status.
“We've delayed many flights to Bali for those attending events like seminars and workshops,” said Bayu, adding that many domestic and international flights had been canceled.
He said tourists appeared to be canceling their trips to the island to avoid the impact of volcanic activities. “As the eruption of Mount Agung had not ended, many people are canceling their trips to Bali or are seeking alternative destinations,” he said. Bayu said that other passengers had switched to flights heading to other countries, like Singapore and Thailand.
However, he added that while the number of flights to Bali had dropped, Inaca saw significant increases in flights to other cities like Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Manado and Medan.
Inaca recorded a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in flights to Medan and Manado.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the country had "lost" about 1 million tourists this year because of the Mt Agung eruption. (bbn)
