Indonesia: Bali awaits gradual return of Chinese tourists
Chinese tourists land at Bali airport on January 22, 2023. AP - Firdia Lisnawati
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1 min
Is this the return of a pre-crisis tourist economy in Indonesia?
Bali welcomed the first direct flights from mainland China this week, in the wake of travel restrictions by Beijing.
Before Covid, around two million Chinese tourists came to Indonesia in 2019.
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With our correspondent in Jakarta,
Juliette Pietraszewski
For now, travelers from China are still shy in Bali and their direct flights are few compared to those before the crisis.
Tourism players hope to see the Chinese clientele increase rapidly.
Last year, Indonesia had already been able to find a new lease of life in terms of tourism, with the arrival of Europeans, Indians and even Australians.
But travelers from China were still missing out with Beijing's restrictions.
In Bali, before the Covid, the Chinese clientele was the most important.
Tourism also represents 80% of the economy of the Indonesian island.
But the return of the Chinese to Bali will be gradual.
For several reasons, explains Guillaume Linton, managing director of Asia Voyage: “
It is a key source for the Balinese ecosystem.
However, we know that these are tourists who travel in very strict conditions with a sort of closed system, with on-site Chinese-speaking incoming agents, hoteliers who completely adapt their services, so this also supposes a little restart with a relatively long latency time, a few months I think, to be able to address this clientele again.
»
Indonesia wants to be cautious, and is targeting 255,000 tourists from China for this year 2023.
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