King Salman's Visit to Bali Expected to Boost Arab Tourist

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud's visit for holidaying in Bali is expected to help boosting the number of Arab tourists the most famous island of Indonesia.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya assured that the visit of King Salman to Bali would be able to increase 50 percent of the number of Arab tourists to Bali from 240 thousand people in 2016 to 360 thousand tourists this year.

"King Salman is the best endorser to promote Indonesia's tourism in Middle East market," Yahya noted here, on Friday.

To support all the publication regarding the king visit in Bali both domestic or internationally, Ministry of Tourism even cut 50 percent of its budget of tourism promotion with the usual cooperation with Al Jazeera, a Doha-based state-funded broadcaster.

King Salman and his entourage of 1.5 thousand delegates will be staying in Bali on March 4 to March 9, after his short state visit to Brunei Darussalam.

Regarding the visit, Bali provincial government has made various preparations including welcoming ceremony, facilities and accommodation, as well as security personnel to ensure that the king and his delegates would be pleased and comfortable during their stay in Bali.

The local government is striving to highlight the Balinese art and culture as the identity of the province, which is popular worldwide as "The Land of Gods", to the Saudi King.

During his five-day holiday in Bali, King Salman and his delegates will stay in five luxury hotels in Nusa Dua, a resort area in the southern part of Bali.

The king is also scheduled to visit some popular tourist attractions, such as the Besakih Temple, Tanah Lot, and Kuta Beach. (WDY)