Tag Archives: Bali

In a bid to rebuild confidence among its travel partners, U & I Holidays has revised its cancellation and refund policy. Not only is it offering a full refund or floating deposit on cancellation, it is also offering two nights free in Bali and one complimentary dinner in an Indian restaurant there for travel validity until March 31, 2018. Shyam Upadhyay, Director, U & I Holidays, says, “Over the past couple of months following the situation of Mt. Agung, we have noticed serious concerns for travel to Bali. I’m sure with these amendments, our clients will be in a position to comfort their customers and encourage them to travel to Bali. This is our way of thanking them for the continuous support and business for Bali and Malidives.” The ‘no cancellation fee’ policy is applicable in the case if volcano erupts or airport closes. Any payment/deposit will be given the option of full refund or to keep as floating deposit for future travel. In case of airport closure due to Mount Agung eruption, U & I Holidays also promises to accommodate the departing guest in a three-star hotel for two nights with one dinner at an Indian restaurant on complimentary basis for bookings closed through them.

The latest data from January to May 2017 shows an increase of 20.72 per cent over the same period last year, with 183,558 Indian visits to Indonesia. India has now become the sixth largest source market with this growth displacing South Korea. Speaking about the new development, Vinsensius Jemadu, Director for Asia Pacific Tourism Promotions, Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia said, “India with the rise in aspiring middle class travellers and robust economic growth has become a potential contributor towards inbound tourism to Indonesia and Bali in particular. In Bali, the total number of India arrivals has increased over 35 per cent every year in the past six years. We are hopeful Indians will equally value Badung as their preferred destination in Indonesia.”

According to reports, Batik Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, is expected to introduce two new daily flights that will fly to three cities in India, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, from Bali. Passengers will be transported on an Airbus A320 fleet, departing from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to India. Achmad Luthfie, President Director, Batik Air, said, “It is already in the finalisation stage and will start operating around July. We’ve already received slots in India, Malaysia and Australia.” He further added,”The economies of both countries keep growing. Moreover, these two countries have the biggest populations in the world. In India, there are about 200 million people who are in the upper middle class group and have travelled overseas. This is where the market potential lies.” Currently, Batik Air has 37 planes, but by the end of this year, the airline plans to have 41. The total number of flights that Batik Air has on a daily basis has reached 209, with the airline’s on-time performance at 95 percent.

Garuda Indonesia recently hosted an Open House for the travel trade in Mumbai in association with Visit Indonesia Tourism Office. The airline has appointed Bird Travels as its GSA that has eight offices across India. The purpose of the event was to create awareness about the airline’s new office in Mumbai and informing the trade about the various opportunities available to promote Indonesia as a destination. Garuda Indonesia recently inaugurated its office in Mumbai. Product presentation was given to the travel fraternity to update them more on Garuda Indonesia Services and to promote Indonesian destinations beyond Bali. To enable passengers to take advantage of the summer holiday season, Garuda Indonesia is running a special return promotional fare valid for travel until April 26, 2017. Mumbai to Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali) all-inclusive Economy class return fares starts from Rs. 22,000 and Business class from Rs. 58,000. (T&C apply) The fares are available for purchase from the Garuda Indonesia, Mumbai sales office and the appointed travel agents. Garuda Indonesia’s Jakarta-bound service operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is operated by Garuda’s state-of-the-art 162-seater, Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

January-August 2016 saw 1,17,897 Indians visit Bali, recording a growth of 61.57 per cent as compared to the same period last year which saw 72,969 visitors, according to the Bali Tourism Promotion Board (BTPD). With this, India scored the highest growth rate followed by China at 35.06 per cent. The increase in Indian visitors has pushed the country’s position as the fifth most important source market, with Australia, Europe, China and Japan occupying the first four ranks. Accordingly, India contributed to 3.69 per cent share of the total tourists in Bali which is 3.19 million during the same period.

Bali has witnessed around 55.47% growth in Indian visitor arrivals to the country during the first six months of 2016 as compared to the same period last year, according to the Bali Tourism Promotion Board (BPPD). India ranked sixth for inbound visitor arrivals in 2015 for Bali. During January-June this year, 92,519 Indian tourists have travelled to the Bali as compared to 59,509 tourists for the same period last year, according to data released by BPPD. “Our focus is on the MICE se­gment. Factors such as marketin­g support for BPPD Ba­li, support from the Emba­ssy and Consulate, efforts o­f the Ministry of Tou­rism of the Republic ­of Indonesia and most­ importantly Visa on ­Arrival for Indians re­ally helped to achieve­ this sustainable gro­wth of over 50 per cent in fi­rst six months of 201­6,” said Vineet Gopal, D­irector India, Bali T­ourism Promotion Boar­d.

Bali has recorded a growth of almost 87.69 per cent in Indian arrivals in January 2016 as compared to the same period last year. This was revealed by Vineet Gopal, who heads New Delhi-based Representation World LLP – the India representative of Bali Tourism Promotion Board, on the sidelines of the OTOAI Convention that concluded in Bali recently. “We expect the same growth rate to continue after this convention, which gave the Indian travel trade a chance to get familiar with the destination. We welcomed more than 150 active members at the convention of the total 240,” he said.

The second edition of OTOAI Convention opened in Bali at the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, Indonesia with outbound travel agents and OTOAI national committee in full attendance. Riaz Munshi opened the Convention and spoke about the theme ‘India Outbound: the game changer’ and why they chose Bali as the venue for the convention. OTOAI President Guldeep Singh Sahni spoke about what was in store for the delegates and the topics that will be touched upon the following day, including the tax issues. With 240 delegates, including overseas participants, the three-day convention will witness dedicated meetings and business sessions, and two days will be spent on post-convention fam trips.

Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is all geared up for its Convention to be held from March 17-21, 2016 in Bali, Indonesia. Riaz Munshi, Convention Chairman, OTOAI, says, “We are expecting around 240 delegates. We have booked close to 220 tickets from India and we also have people coming from Singapore, The Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.” Though the names of the panelists at the Convention have not been disclosed yet, Munshi informs that the business sessions are going to be informative with panel discussions on the current scenario of the market and the dynamic changes taking place in it.

Indonesia received approximately 262,000 Indian arrivals in 2015, and are aiming for 350,000 this year, announced H.E. Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma, Ambassador of Indonesia to India during the U&I Holidays Bali roadshow in New Delhi. The first day of the first ever 5-city roadshow saw the presence of 23 participants from Bali out of which 21 hotel properties, an Indian restaurant and the Bali Zoo were available to interact with guests and give out information. “We are here to promote Bali and to increase awareness about the variety of products Bali is well-known for,” said Shyam Upadhyay, Director, U&I Holidays. He furthered announced that the DMC would be launching their online portal this year. The roadshow began in Delhi on Feb 5, and will go on to Chennai on Feb 8, Bengaluru on Feb 9, Ahmedabad on Feb 11 and Mumbai on Feb 12, respectively.