TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno planned to add more flights in order to achieve the target of 7.4 million foreign tourist visits, particularly tourists from China.

“As of today, we’ll keep adding more flights. We cannot deny that the target of 7.4 million foreign tourist visits will depend on Chinese tourists,” said Sandiaga in the Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

He mentioned that the additional direct flights to Bali were requested by Putu Winastra, the head of the Bali regional management board of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (Asita). Lion Group had also announced more charter flights and scheduled flights.

The daily target of Chinese tourist visits was claimed to reach 225,000. “So the tourist visits from China nationally are predicted to be around 2,000-2,500. This will, of course, be divided [to many regions] not only Bali but also Manado, Jakarta, and Riau Islands,” Sandiaga added.

Therefore, the ministry assessed that this must be addressed well given limited direct flights.

“As requested by Asita, there will be three cities connected with direct flights, namely Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Hopefully, this will increase the number of tourists from China.”

Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati shared similar hopes. He expected that the number of direct flights to the province could return to before the pandemic.

“We hope that direct flights to Bali from 20 cities in China as before the COVID-19 pandemic can be reopened, including the number of flights from more than 15 airlines,” he said.

AMELIA RAHIMA SARI

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