TEMPO.CO, Melbourne - Bali is still the favorite destination for tourists from Australia. Some Australians have even considered the Island of the God as their second home, which has made Bali’s tourism survive despite the frequent activity shown by Mount Agung.

“Australia is still Indonesia’s most extraordinary tourist destination because 90 percent of Australians end up in Bali,” said Emil Hardy Ridwan, Country manager Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) in Melbourne, on Monday, December 11.

He said that the top three destinations preferred by Australians are New Zealand, Bali, and the United States. However, their visits to New Zealand is to visit family members or for relatives tourism purposes.

“Bali is still their favorite tourist destination,” he said.

In fact, when Ngurah Rai airport was closed during December 26-27 as it was affected by Mount Agung’s volcanic activities, Australian travelers were not too concerned. “Especially young Australians, or independent travelers, they didn’t seem to care much. Although, many of them that have a family have mostly refrained from traveling to Bali,” said Emil.

According to Emil, Melbourne based airline Jetstar is still struggling to cope with flight demands to Denpasar, Bali, despite already increasing their flight schedule from seven times a week to 12-times a week.

"However, the capacity of Bali’s airport could not accommodate the huge demand,” said Emil. Emil said that Australia is a large market potential that must be maintained. Indonesia is eyeing on attracting 1.8 million tourists from Australia before year’s end.

ANTARA