Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The number of tourists from Australia to Bali is predicted to grow by a much slower rate this year as a result of the temporary shutdowns of airport and Australia's economic slowdown.
The International Ngurah Rai airport was shut down several times with the eruption of Mount Barujari and Mount Rinjani spewing thick smokes that blurred vision over the airport.
"However, the impact of the shutdowns was relatively small on the number of visits to Bali. The main reason is the economic condition in Australia," tourism observer Dewa Nyoman Putra said here on Monday.
Australians are still the largest in number but the increase was relatively low amid economic slowdown mainly with the coal price fall, Dewa said.
The decline in the number of visitors from Australia, however was offset by significant increases in the number of visitors from the United States, Britain Japan, India and Germany, he said.
The increase in the number of countries from which visitors are given visa free visit contributed to the rise in the number of foreign tourists to the country in 2015 notably from China, placing it the second largest country of origin after Australia.
Based on official record of the Bali tourism office, there were 3.36 million foreign visitors to Bali in the first 10 months of the year, or an increase of 7.61 percent from the same period last year.
The number of visitors from Australia grew by only 0.9 percent to 820,802 in the January-October period of 2015 from 812,723orang in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the number of visitors from China grew 20.55percent to 601,340.
A strong growth of 18.54 percent to 108,532 was recorded in the number of visitors from the United States amid the global crisis still besetting that country.
Observers are optimistic that Bali would reach its target in number of foreign visitors at 4 million this year based on the trend so far. (WDY)
