Number tourist boats visiting Bali almost doubling in 2017

Gianyar (Antaranews Bali) - The number of visits by tourist boats to Bali reached 68 in 2017 contributing to the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali that year.

The number of visits by foreign tourists to Bali reached 5.7 million overshooting the target of 5.5 million, head of the provincial tourism office AA Yuniarta Putra said here on Monday.

The cruisers landed at the Tanjung Benoa and Celukan Bawang ports carrying foreign tourists, Yuniarta said giving no figure for tourists landed on the two ports.

Data are not yet immediately available about the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali by tourist boats in 2017. Most of the visitors to Bali are via the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

He said the number of visits by tourist boats in 2017 almost doubled the number of visits in the first half of that year.

Earlier, General Manager of the port of Tanjung Benoa Ardhy Wahyu Basuki said there were 38 visits of tourist boats to Bali in the first half of 2017, adding the largest numbers were in February and March.

"The 38 visits by the tourist boats in the first six months of 2017 grew sharply by 32 percent compared with in the same period in the previous year," Ardhy said.

He attributed the 32 percent increase in the number of visits by tourist boats to a discount in the vessels landing tariff .

The number of visits by foreign tourist via seaport using tourist boats reached 32,052 in the first half of 2017 growing 28 percent from the same period in the previous year, Ardhy said.

"Pelindo III has improved port infrastructure to follow the growing number of tourist boats visiting Bali. The quay , previously 290 meters in length is now 340 meters," he said.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B Pandjaitan said recently modernization of the Benoa port would be completed in 2018 to facilitate growing number of cruiser boats visiting Bali.

"Pelindo III is implementing the project in cooperation with private investor. The project is estimated to cost Rp1.7 trillion. The infrastructure includes port terminal construction of which is estimated to cost Rp500 billion and dredging of the port basin and renovation of other facilities to cost around Rp1.2 trillion.

The government hopes that the number of visits of tourist boats to Bali will increase with the construction of tourist boat terminal in the port of Tanjung Benoa. The terminal will facilitate visits to Mandalika and Labuan Bajo, in East Nusa Tenggara, Luhut said.(WDY)