Bali’s tourism industry urged to diversify market

Bali, the famous island of the gods, is a big name as a top international tourist destination. Each year, people from all walks of life who come from different nations come to see the beauty of Bali including its luxury Bali villas, Bali villas resort, and private villas in Bali. However, even with its current popularity, the tourism industry of this island paradise has a need to penetrate other markets in preparation for the impact of the global economic crisis.

There is a need to diversify the tourist markets in order for Bali to keep its position at the top among the different tourist sites. This is according to Ketut Ardana, Deputy Chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel.

“There are some hotels, as well as tour and travel agencies that keep focusing on a single market — Japan, for instance,” he said.

Over the years, Australians continue to rank number one in terms of the number of people who visit the island with many of them considering Bali their second home. This is followed by Japan which has remained at this position for already a long time until 2011 when China snatched the position.

The decrease that happened in 2011 was not the first. Prior to that, the number of tourists dropped from 354,817 Japanese people in 2008 to 319,417 in 2009. In 2010, there were only 246,465 Japanese people on the island.

The economic crisis has much to do with the decreasing number of Japanese nationals visiting Bali, according to Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu, head of Bali Tourism Office. He also added that it is necessary for Bali to open up to new markets such as Canada, India, and Russia.

“It is high time for us all to explore new markets,” he added.

It is also added that Bali must make its packages and projects more palatable for other sorts of tourists aside from those that already flock the island. Also, it needs to advertise more its luxury villas in Bali to attract more markets.