0 Bali facing stiff tourism competition

Gone are the days when Bali held the enviable position of being the only paradise in the tropics, as today more and more places — both in Indonesia and in other parts of Southeast Asia — are emerging, attracting domestic and international visitors and posing serious competition for the Island of the Gods. Agung Prana, one of Bali’s prominent tourism experts, explained that some countries had worked effectively to develop their tourism industries with active and creative promotional programs. 

Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam have been growing as tourist hubs in the region, possibly leaving Bali behind. An owner of several places of accommodation targeting European and American markets, Prana was shocked when he realized that the number of guests from the two continents had fallen drastically, especially during the recent year-end holidays. “In Pemuteran village, Buleleng regency, my hotels and villas used to have around 80 percent occupancy rates during year-end holidays. 

Last December, we had only between 40 percent and 50 percent occupancy rates,” Prana said. He was also seeing similar scenarios with hotels and villas in Ubud and Sanur, predicted to have same levels of occupancy. In the same period, Prana made a series of trips to countries in Southeast Asia and found robust tourism businesses in those places. “I met so many foreign tourists in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia with hotels filled with holiday makers,” recalled Prana, who had also heard about some cancellations to Bali from foreign agencies, which had directed their clients to other destinations in Asia. 

“Honestly, we [the Balinese tourism industry] have to admit that they [Southeast Asian countries] are more prepared and more aggressive in promoting and upgrading their tourism facilities,” Prana said. The Balinese tourism industry and the Indonesian government have always taken for granted that Bali is a widely known destination in international tourism. “I really hope that the Indonesian President will attend the prestigious International Tourism Bourse in Berlin to really learn about the current world tourism trend,” he said. Prana added that inviting world-recognized travel writers and media would be one of the most effective ways of promoting destinations in Indonesia, especially Bali. 

Separately, Sugeng Supriyanto, owner of Top Indonesia Holidays, voiced his optimism that the interests of European and American visitors in Bali would remain intact. “My company has dealt with clienteles from the two regions and we saw around a 30 percent increase in the number of their arrivals in 2012 when compared to the number in 2011,” Supriyanto explained. Starting in early 2013, the company had already received orders of tour packages to Bali. “Bali has become a distinct place for many visitors. Some countries may grow as emerging tourist destinations, but Bali will still have a unique position in the world tourism market,” he said. 

In the domestic market, some places such as Komodo Island, Bunaken in North Sulawesi and Raja Ampat in Papua have also grown as special tourist sites for those who love adventurous and natural tourism. “Bali is still attractive to many visitors, especially first-time and young tourists,” added Supriyanto. IB Surakusuma, who deals with cruises, also shared this positive view. “Cruise holidays have started to replace air transportation. Bali, Makassar and Surabaya are now improving their harbors to accommodate passengers of luxury liners,” he said.

source : bali daily