Balinese life explored

Bali saw a 13.1 per cent increase in tourist arrivals to 729,734 in the first four months of the year, compared to 645,061 in the same period last year.

Top market, Australia, grew by  61.13 per cent to 164,642 arrivals. While still coming in second, Japan remained sluggish, with numbers falling 23.27 per cent to 83,720. China followed in third position, with 71,335 visitors.

Longhaul markets showed sharp increases. The UK posted a 31.75 per cent gain to 28,907 arrivals, while the Netherlands grew 49.05 per cent to 24,252. France and Germany were also up, albeit modestly, growing 2.96 per cent and 7.75 per cent respectively. But US numbers fell 14.26 per cent to 22,959.

Panorama Destination managing director Rocky Praputranto said: ?The growing number of seats to Bali and Indonesia?s political stability are making the island attractive. Thailand?s political situation has made Bali and Indonesia an alternative destination for international visitors.?

Bali Hotels Associat-ion (BHA) has relaunched the Bali Is My Life programme, which was first introduced in 2005.

Bali Hotels Associat-ion (BHA) has relaunched the Bali Is My Life programme, which was first introduced in 2005.

BHA chairman Jean-Charles Le Coz said a team had been formed to formulate promotions based on the Balinese people  and their way of life. ?They found a young dancer who comes from a long line of performers. Her great grandmother was  Bali?s oldest performing dancer. They also found a mask carver whose family had lived and worked in the same compound  for 800 years.?

The campaign also features a documentary about Bali, a revamped BHA website, and BHA?s new visitor?s guide using 2D barcodes.

Le Coz said: ?Bali Is My Life is not BHA?s promotion. It is dedicated to the promotion of Bali?s tourism industry and we encourage stakeholders to use it.?

Ketut Salam, managing director of Pacto Convex, anticipates good business on the MICE front this year and next. ?There are a number of international events, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand participants, valued between 10 billion rupiah (US$1.09 million) and 35 billion rupiah.?

In April, Bali hosted the Geothermal Conference, which drew in 3,000 delegates from 85 countries. Pacto is handling the 600-pax 25th Pan Pacific Congress of Real Estate Appraisers, Valuers and Counsellors from September 27 to 30, while Panorama Convex has won the bid for the 1,500-pax East Asia Insurance Conference from October 18 to 28.

Strategic Airlines, based in Brisbane, launched thrice-weekly Perth-Bali services on June 12. The full-service carrier uses two-class A320 aircraft with 156 seats on the route.

KLM is considering increasing the frequency of its highly successful Amsterdam-Bali via Singapore service.

Peter Hartman, CEO of KLM, said: ?We?ve seen high loads on this service to Bali, especially out of Amsterdam. And what we did not realise was many tourists, especially from the US, love to take our flight from Singapore to Bali. This is a new market segment.?

Garuda Indonesia?s new Jakarta-Amsterdam service could also have spillover benefits for Bali through Dutch tourists doing Indonesia roundtrips, said tour operators.

Garuda president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said: ?The flight goes to Jakarta but we have many flights between Jakarta and Bali. Connections will be convenient.?

As visitor numbers soar, the island is not resting on its laurels.

Bali Safari and Marine Park will open Bali Theatre, an indoor mega-stage performing arts venue on August 29. Equipped with state-of-the-art multimedia technology and audiovisual tools, the 1,200-seat theatre will stage daily runs of Bali Agung ? The Legend of Balinese Goddesses, a show that blends traditional and contemporary Balinese dance performances, collaborative music and puppetry. Bali Theatre?s director of sales and marketing John Sumampau said: ?By showcasing Bali?s cultural uniqueness and values, it?ll invite more national and international visitors to experience this one-stop entertainment park.?