Tourism in Bali has experienced a massive rise in the first half of the year and is set to break last year’s record in visitor numbers.  

Official data from BaliDiscovery.com reveals that 2.27 million international guests arrived on the island in the first six months of 2016. This is 18.6% more visitors than in the first six months of 2015.

This is also the first time ever that the ‘island paradise’ has clocked over two million holidaymakers in the first half of the year. It is projected that tourism numbers will hit a record 4.75 million international travellers by the end of year if such a rate continues.

It is the Australian and Chinese vacationers that are fuelling the growth, accounting for 44% of total arrivals in Bali in the first half of the year. The Indonesian island received 536,767 Australian visitors (an increase of 10.7% from 2015) and 464,002 Chinese visitors (an increase of 36.2% from 2015).

Helping the growth is the rise in the number of connecting flights that transit in Bali from Australia and Mainland China. Low-cost airlines like Tiger Air and multiple Chinese charter services are contributing to the rise in Bali tourism.  

Other countries that are impacting on Bali’s visitor growth are Japan, the UK and India. Visitor numbers from neighbouring countries Malaysia and Singapore however, have fallen. Indonesia recorded a total of 5.29 million international visitors in the first half of this year and is expecting to reach 12 million by the year’s end.