For decades, Australian tourists have been the most frequent international arrivals in Bali, and the trend is slowing.
Although travel trends have started to show a growing interest from Australian tourists in traveling to Japan, Bali remains the most popular destination.
The latest travel figures from Bali International Airport show that between January to March 2025, the airport served a total of 5,208,342 passengers and recorded 32,669 aircraft movements.
This was a small increase of 0.5 percent compared to the same period in 2024, which reached 5,182,838 passengers.
Though 0.5% may not seem a notable increase, with January to March the low season in Bali, industry leaders are pleased to see growth even during naturally quieter times.
The General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Syaugi Shahab, told reporters “The increase is proof that Bali Island is still in demand by tourists, both domestic and foreign as a superior destination. We ensure that the airport service is always excellent to support the growth of the tourism sector in Bali.”
He noted that although January to March is the low season, the airport saw sharp peaks in passenger traffic, over Chinese New Year, Eid al-Fitr, and Nyepi Day.
Travel data shared by Ngurah Rai Immigration shows that Australian citizens are still the most frequent international arrivals Bali with a total of 344,639 people in January, February, and March followed by China with 136,210 arrivals, and India with 120,887 arrivals.
Shahab told reporters that the overall growth of passenger traffic is being seen as a positive development for Bali Airport and the Bali tourism sector.
He told reporters “We have carried out various coordination and collaboration steps with related parties to increase the connectivity of Bali Island at home and abroad so that the airport operations will be even better this year.”
He added, “We express our great appreciation to all parties who have supported the smooth operation of the airport and realized the dream of Ngurah Rai Airport to become a world-class airport for Indonesia.”
Speaking separately, Agus Gede Hendrayana from the Central Statistics Agency Office in Bali, confirmed that tourist arrivals from the UK, South Korea, and Germany are on the rise, though arrivals from the US and Russia are on the decline.
He explained, “The majority of tourists come from Australia, India, and China. Tourist visits from China have experienced a significant increase of up to 186,18 percent annually.”
For Australian tourists, the special relationship between holidaymakers and Bali continues to strengthen, despite the lure of Japan, which has become one of the fastest-growing in-demand destinations for Aussie travellers in the last three years.
In 2024, nearly one million Australian tourists visited Japan, out of 36.8 million international travelers. However, while Australian holidaymakers to Bali seek out sun, sea, and sand, tourists heading to Japan are seeking skiing and affordability.
Speaking to reporters in January 2025, Professor Dr Shiro Armstrong from the Australia-Japan Research Centre cited the weak yen and the country’s ski resorts as the key reasons for the growing interest in travel to the region. Japan has been making a concerted effort to attract more tourists and it’s working.
Dr Armstrong told reporters, “For over a decade, there’s been an effort to attract more foreign tourists with signs in multiple languages, increased use of credit cards — not just cash — and improved accessibility.”
Bali, too, is on a mission to attract more international tourists in 2025 and has set targets to welcome 6.5 million international arrivals by the end of the year.
Bali, like Japan, has also been calling for more tourists, but only those who are well-behaved and are looking to explore outside the big tourism hotspots to help promote cultural connection, reduce the risk of tourism, and crack down on tourists breaking the law and behaving disrespectfully.
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