Nusa Dua (Antaranews Bali) - French Ambassador to Indonesia Jean-Charles Berthonnet said he hopes there would be direct flight between Paris and Bali to facilitate French tourists wanting to visit Bali.
"Perhaps Garuda could serve the direct flight. The absence of direct flight is one of the main factors that the number of French tourists to the country remain small," the ambassador said here on Sunday.
He said French tourists visit Indonesia including Bali have to transit in one of other cities in southeast Asia like Singapore and Bangkok or cities in Middle East.
He said Bali is well known among tourist all over the world especially for its natural beauty and cultures.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) the number of French tourists visiting Indonesia 256,000 in 2016 up from 208,000 in 2015. The number of foreign tourist visiting that island in 2017 totaled 5.7 million , up 15.6 percent from 2016.
Chinese were the largest in number reaching 1.3 million, followed by Australians 1.09 million and Indians 272,000 in 2017. (*)
