DENPASAR ~ Updated data from the Bali statistics bureau show that 20,000 more French people visited Bali in the seven months to July compared to the same period last year.

Tourist numbers from France rose from 39,561 to 50,596, representing a 33-percent increase in visits in the January to July period, when a total 1,304,369 foreign tourists entered Bali, according to Bali Central Bureau of Statistics head Ida Komang Wisnu.

Total tourist numbers were up 12.26 percent in the period with the highest percentage increases coming from China, Australia, France, Malaysia and the UK.

Australia was the single biggest contributor to the market, accounting for 17.34 percent of all foreign tourist visits for the period with 225,170 visits representing a 37-percent increase on last year.

But declining visitor numbers were recorded for Japan, South Korea, Taiwan – which plunged 18.45 percent – and Germany.