The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Bali from January to April 2023 nearly reached the number of arrivals before the COVID-19 pandemic and as of April, the Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has recorded 1,437,740-foreign nationals visiting the island, report Tempo.
BPS Bali recorded 1,819,644-foreign tourists in 2019, while during the pandemic of 2020-2022, the number didn’t even reach 100,000.
“It’s still below [the pre-pandemic level], less than 400,000 visits but in general, it has increased closer to 2019 visits,” said BPS Bali Statistician I Made Agus Adnyana on Monday, June 5, 2023.
Tempo write that according to Agus, the surge in tourist arrivals has occurred in the last two months and is attributable to several factors. Among them are the rising number of airlines and those related to the country of origin.
The top five countries dominating foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in April 2023 were Australia with 102,737 visits, up by 14.43-percent compared to last month; India with 35,854 visits, or an increase of 27.29-percent; China increased by 95.79-percent, the United Kingdom increased by 15.61-percent, and the United States by 9.27 percent, report Tempo, with the highest surge coming from China.
When compared month to month, the April number of foreign tourist arrivals is the highest throughout 2023, with an increase of 11.01-percent from March. They mostly entered the island by air through I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport with a total of 410,281-visits and by sea with 1,229-visits.
Tempo say that on this basis, BPS Bali is optimistic that foreign tourist arrivals can catch up to the pre-pandemic level, where in 2019 the number amounted to 4,455,546. Moreover, the surge in foreign tourist arrivals usually occurs from July to December.
Source: Tempo
Photo by Julian Vinci on Unsplash
