NUSA DUA ~

Bali has a great chance to capture a share of the tourist market from Middle East countries since several international airlines from those countries has opened a direct flight to Bali.

Currently there are two foreign airlines with direct flights to the Bali which is Qatar Airways and the new one is Emiratas Airlines.

Those two airlines are also expected to be connecting door for travelers from countries in Europe, US and Africa who want to travel to Bali.

According to Chairman of Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) Bali, Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, the connectivity is also hoped to boost hotel occupancy 60 to 70 percent given there are so many hotels in Bali,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Resource Development of the Ministry of Tourism I Gede Pitana said that tourists from Middle East such as United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have a high level of spending reaching about 6,600 US dollars for a single visit.

“Usually they have a distinctive character such as family trip with length of stay at six to 10 days and on average they stay for three days in Bali,” he said.

Moreover, tourists from Middle East usually stay at four and five star hotels to enjoy luxurious amenities.