Bali had 6.3 million tourists in 2019, in the first 9 months of 2021 it had 43

Young Caucasian woman walking in Balinese temple, Indonesia

Before COVID travel restrictions Bali was crowded with tourists that congested the Indonesian island’s villages roads, streets, hotels, bars, restaurants and beaches.

Nowadays the tourist destination is barren resulting in suffering for locals with massive job losses and empty venues.

Bali saw 6.3 million tourists visit in all of 2019, but in the first nine months of 2021, the island only saw 43 travellers.

The 43 foreign visitors weren’t tourists, but were travelling on different visas.

Bali saw a substantial boom since the 1990s, with mass tourism transforming the agricultural island into a massive holiday hub, with tourism accounting for 50 per cent of Bali’s economy.

However, the pandemic saw 700,000 workers lose their jobs, become furloughed, leave the labour force or reduce working hours.

Some businesses tried to offset losses by catering to domestic tourists. Hotels offered reduced-price stays for Indonesians wanting to work from the beach, but hotel occupancy was less than 10 per cent in September, according to government statistics.

Bali’s economy dropped 9.3 per cent in 2020, compared to Indonesia’s overall 2 per cent drop, and more than 30,000 people have fallen into poverty.

The arrival of the Omicron variant tempered hopes that Bali could begin to reopen as normal.

Indonesia reopened to tourists from certain countries in mid-October, but required a five-day quarantine after arrival, which was later reduced to three days.

With the new variant, Indonesia is mandating a seven-day quarantine for foreign tourists.

No international flights have arrived in Bali with foreign tourists since the reopening, according to a spokesman for Bali’s international airport.

Bali governor, Wayan Koster, when asked about the Omicron variant said the government is vigilant about the emergence of new variants, and that COVID-19 conditions abroad “will certainly impact the effort to revive tourism”.

Bali isn’t alone in its COVID-related tourism struggles.

In Venice, government data shows the city welcomed around 60 per cent fewer tourists in June and July this year, compared to the same time period in 2019.

New Zealand’s tourism is down 95 per cent with their strict border closures.

Roughly two dozen countries, including Thailand, Fiji, Jamaica and the Philippines, counted on travel for more than 20 per cent of their pre-pandemic annual gross domestic product, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Thailand is currently facing its worst economic downturn in decades, in part due to the lost tourism revenue.

A poll of travel experts by the World Tourism Organization found that 45 per cent didn’t expect international tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels in their country until 2024 or later.

The US Travel Association forecasts that international arrivals to the U.S. won’t recover to 2019 levels until 2025.

Latest News

  • Cruise

Viking takes delivery of its newest ship, the Viking Vela

Viking has announced it has taken delivery of its newest ocean ship, the Viking Vela, when it was presented at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy. Classified as a small ship, as are all Viking ocean ships, the Viking Vela has 499 staterooms that hosts 998 guests. The ship joins the company’s growing fleet of award-winning ocean vessels and […]

  • Cruise

Celebrity Cruises sets sail from Canaveral for the first time

Celebrity Cruises has brought its premium holiday experiences to Port Canaveral, Florida, offering even more ways to escape to the Caribbean. Guests can now enjoy Caribbean escapes on Celebrity Equinox with seven-night sailings to tropical destinations including The Bahamas, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, Belize, and more. With the addition of Port Canaveral, Celebrity Cruises now offers […]

  • Tourism

ATIA secures skilled migration win with inclusion of consultants, agency managers and tour guides

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has secured a significant win, with the inclusion of travel consultants, travel agency managers and tour guides as eligible occupations for skilled migration on the Federal Government’s Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). These inclusions mark a significant milestone for Australia’s travel industry. Until now, travel consultants and tour guides […]

  • Events
  • Hotels

An event producer’s take on Alma Resort – the ultimate MICE destination

The state-of-the-art Alma Resort has been rapidly gaining recognition for its world-class facilities and is now turning its focus to attract the Australian market, a key player in the global MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) sector. Rebecca Perrier reports. Nestled along Vietnam’s picturesque southern coastline, the vibrant Alma Resort in Cam Ranh stands as […]

  • Travel Agents

TravelManagers’ Danielle Goncalves on falling in love with Bali in 5 days

TravelManagers’ Danielle Goncalves can confirm that five days is more than enough time to fall in love with Bali. Goncalves was one of seven personal travel managers (PTMs) to visit the iconic destination with Hoot Holidays on their annual ‘Hoot Legends’ famil. As a longtime supporter of Hoot Holidays (a sister company to TravelManagers Australia), […]

  • News
  • Sustainability

The DARWIN200 conservation mission sails into Hobart

The DARWIN200 conservation mission aboard the Dutch tall ship Oosterschelde sailed into Hobart ahead of a programme of conservation projects. The Oosterschelde set sail from Plymouth Harbour, UK, in August 2023 on an epic two-year planetary conservation mission retracing Charles Darwin’s voyage of the Beagle and training 200 young environmentalists along the way. The aim was to inspire […]