Indonesian inbound operators participating at Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF 2024) have reported a significant improvement in business as compared to 2023, with some seeing new markets coming in.
Panorama Destination saw a 96 per cent increase in performance last year as compared to 2022, which was about 70 per cent of 2019’s volume. Among its top markets are the Netherlands, France and Poland.
Ricky: more Europeans are looking into travelling to Asia
Ricky Setiawanto, director at Panorama Destination, noted: “With more international flights coming in this year, we are expecting (an even better) year ahead.”
According to data from Angkasa Pura Bali airport authority, Etihad Airways will start four times a week services from Abu Dhabi to Denpasar from June 20. In addition, other airlines such as Air Busan, Uzbekistan Airways, Jeju Air, Rossiya Airlines, T’Way Air, Starlux Airlines, and Air India have plans to start services to Bali this year.
Ricky commented that more Europeans are looking into travelling to Asia, adding that travel agents he met with have revealed that demand for Asia is high.
“As such, we are hoping to achieve a 20 per cent increase (in business) this year,” he said.
Similarly, Classic Tour Lombok has also seen a strong return to Indonesia from longhaul markets, thanks to the much-improved international access to the country. While the domestic air network has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, it is performing much better than in 2022.
Nawasier Tralala, travel consultant, Classic Tours Lombok, shared that they had penetrated into the new market of Croatia since 2017, which has picked up well this year. Over the last couple of months, he has handled several groups in the last couple of months, with 26 groups arriving between July and September – each group comprises a maximum of 28 passengers.
Tralala said Turkish Airlines provided a convenient connection to Indonesia: “It take two hours from Croatia to Istanbul and then around eight hours to Jakarta. I started receiving bookings in 2019 for trips in 2020, but those got cancelled due to Covid-19.
“Last year, when I approached the agents there, they were still taking a wait-and-see stand – but this year, the groups are really coming.”
He added that Croatians were mostly interested in the nature and culture of Indonesia, and are also keen to take trips around the country, for an average of 22 days.
Meanwhile, Nepal is a new market for RD Tours Bali, thanks to the new AirAsia Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route as well as the good connectivity to Bali, according to its director of marketing and overseas promotion, Bambang Sugiono.
“I have actually seen the potential of this market since 2017, but accessibility was the issue then,” commented Bambang, who explained that the available flights were by Singapore Airlines to Singapore, then a connection to Bali, which was considered pricey. He remarked that more are visiting the area now thanks to low cost carriers – which makes it more affordable – although travellers still needed to apply for a visa at the embassy.
These travellers come with their families, are interested in adventure trips, and take five-day holidays in Bali, Bambang said.
Indonesian inbound operators participating at Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF 2024) have reported a significant improvement in business as compared to 2023, with some seeing new markets coming in.
Panorama Destination saw a 96 per cent increase in performance last year as compared to 2022, which was about 70 per cent of 2019’s volume. Among its top markets are the Netherlands, France and Poland.
Ricky Setiawanto, director at Panorama Destination, noted: “With more international flights coming in this year, we are expecting (an even better) year ahead.”
According to data from Angkasa Pura Bali airport authority, Etihad Airways will start four times a week services from Abu Dhabi to Denpasar from June 20. In addition, other airlines such as Air Busan, Uzbekistan Airways, Jeju Air, Rossiya Airlines, T’Way Air, Starlux Airlines, and Air India have plans to start services to Bali this year.
Ricky commented that more Europeans are looking into travelling to Asia, adding that travel agents he met with have revealed that demand for Asia is high.
“As such, we are hoping to achieve a 20 per cent increase (in business) this year,” he said.
Similarly, Classic Tour Lombok has also seen a strong return to Indonesia from longhaul markets, thanks to the much-improved international access to the country. While the domestic air network has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, it is performing much better than in 2022.
Nawasier Tralala, travel consultant, Classic Tours Lombok, shared that they had penetrated into the new market of Croatia since 2017, which has picked up well this year. Over the last couple of months, he has handled several groups in the last couple of months, with 26 groups arriving between July and September – each group comprises a maximum of 28 passengers.
Tralala said Turkish Airlines provided a convenient connection to Indonesia: “It take two hours from Croatia to Istanbul and then around eight hours to Jakarta. I started receiving bookings in 2019 for trips in 2020, but those got cancelled due to Covid-19.
“Last year, when I approached the agents there, they were still taking a wait-and-see stand – but this year, the groups are really coming.”
He added that Croatians were mostly interested in the nature and culture of Indonesia, and are also keen to take trips around the country, for an average of 22 days.
Meanwhile, Nepal is a new market for RD Tours Bali, thanks to the new AirAsia Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route as well as the good connectivity to Bali, according to its director of marketing and overseas promotion, Bambang Sugiono.
“I have actually seen the potential of this market since 2017, but accessibility was the issue then,” commented Bambang, who explained that the available flights were by Singapore Airlines to Singapore, then a connection to Bali, which was considered pricey. He remarked that more are visiting the area now thanks to low cost carriers – which makes it more affordable – although travellers still needed to apply for a visa at the embassy.
These travellers come with their families, are interested in adventure trips, and take five-day holidays in Bali, Bambang said.