Bali Faces Potential Economic Loss Due to Zero Flights from China

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bali Deputy Governor Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said that his region could potentially lose 17 percent tourist visits after the government temporarily halted commercial flights to and from China.

“Or 3,300 Chinese tourists each day on average,” said the deputy governor on Thursday, February 6. 

The Indonesian transportation ministry decided to briefly halt all flights connected to China on Wednesday. This is deemed necessary by the government following the rising death toll due to the novel coronavirus outbreak that reached 564 people. The Wuhan virus has infected at least 28,000 globally. 

To put it in context, tourist visits to Indonesia in 2019 amounted to 16 million with 2 million of them coming from China. Some 1.4 million of these Chinese tourists end up visiting the Island of the Gods with others visiting Manado up to Toba Lake in North Sumatra. 

Bali deputy governor said a Chinese tourist on average would spend around US$1,100 (roughly Rp15 million) each day on the island. Based on this statistic, he argues that the loss of 3,300 tourist visits would make the region potentially lose Rp50 billion in transactions alone. 

Hotels in Bali are starting to lose Chinese tourists, as corroborated by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy of tourism, Kosmian Pudjiadi. “They don’t have tourist [visits] anymore.”

Fortunately, according to Kosmian, international tourist visits to Indonesia's resort island from European countries have not been affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

FAJAR PEBRIANTO