DENPASAR ~ Visitor numbers to Bali are up by more than 50 percent so far this year, compared to the same period a year ago, government data show, despite recent travel warnings by Canberra.

Australia had been one key market for Bali’s tourism that had not fully recovered after bombings here in recent years, but the new figures show the trend is now reversing.

Last month, for example, 20,518 Australians visited Bali, compared to 14,862 in June 1996, a 38.06-percent increase, data from the Bali Tourism Office show.

For the first five months of 2007, there was a 51.55-percent rise in Australian tourists arriving in Bali, the figures say.

Australian Tourists Visiting Bali

Source: Bali Tourism Office