To Boost Chinese Tourist Visits, Vice Governor Cok Ace Suggests Adding 'Direct Flights'
- 24 Januari 2023
- 22:01 WITA
- News
DENPASAR , Balitopnews.com - Following up on the return of visits by tourists from China to Bali, Vice Governor of Bali Prof. Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Cok Ace) hopes that the number of direct flights from the Bamboo Curtain country will be increased. The addition of direct flights is expected to include the number of cities in China as departure points and airlines serving direct flights to Bali. He conveyed this request to the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno through the event 'The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno' which took place virtually, Tuesday ( January 24,2023).
Cok Ace, who took part in the event from his office at the Deputy Governor's Office in Bali, wanted direct flights to be added in stages. "We really hope that direct flights from 20 cities in China with 15 airlines can be returned to the normal situation before the pandemic," he hoped. This is important, considering that China is a potential supplier of foreign tourists to Bali.
On that occasion, Cok Ace who is also the Chairman of the PHRI Bali BPD expressed his highest appreciation and gratitude to the ranks of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy for the steps taken so that Chinese tourists could return to the Island of the Gods. He, who accompanied Governor Wayan Koster in the welcoming procession at Ngurah Rai Airport on January 22, 2023, felt extraordinary enthusiasm from the group of Chinese tourists who used chartered flights from Shenzhen City. “We witnessed an extraordinary thing. The atmosphere is very different compared to when we sent off the last Chinese tourists on February 5, 2020 which marked the closure of entry access due to the pandemic situation at that time," he said. At that time, said Cok Ace, the Chinese tourists who were released showed emotion because they did not know when they could return to visit Bali. On the other hand, during their first post-pandemic arrival, Chinese tourists showed happy faces when they set foot in Bali. This Professor at ISI Denpasar said that there were several factors that caused the great love of Chinese people for Bali. He explained that Bali and China have historical closeness. This is reflected in a number of relics which are historical evidence of Balinese-Chinese cultural acculturation dating back thousands of years. "Because of that, they really love and are very happy to visit Bali," he said. Apart from that, natural factors have also encouraged Chinese tourists to choose Bali as their favorite tourist attraction. “Their country is so wide, so to find the sea is very far away. Because of that, they are very enthusiastic about traveling to Bali,” he added.
Meanwhile, Menparekraf Sandiaga Uno said that the arrival of the first Chinese foreign tourists was raised as the main topic at the event which involved journalists and tourism stakeholders. Vice Governor Cok Ace hopes that the addition of direct flights covering a number of cities and flights will be of concern to the ranks of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. Currently, his party is working on three potential cities that will become pockets of Chinese tourists, namely Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Regarding the number of flights, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also approached airlines in Indonesia and China. Sandiana Uno added, China is being worked on seriously because it is one of the potential markets to boost the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia. Nationally, this year it is targeting 255,300 Chinese tourists. "Apart from Bali as the main gateway, we also hope that foreign tourists from China will visit other destinations in Indonesia, such as Manado," he hoped. On that occasion, Sandiaga Uno conveyed interesting information regarding Bali which was in second place and managed to beat London and Paris in the travelers' choice award for destination. “Two rankings up, because last year Bali was in fourth position. This year Bali is in second place, Dubai is in first place," he explained. This achievement is very encouraging because the assessment indicators are the quality and quantity of reviews for the period November 2021 to November 2022. (Rls/Btnc)
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