With the world opening after the COVID-19 pandemic, Bali has seen an increase in tourism. However, British visitor numbers are falling.
Matt Downing, a representative of the UK Embassy in Indonesia and Timor Leste says less UK citizens are flying to Bali, partly as a result of the economic crisis fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The conflict has resulted in a rise in the cost of living for the British citizens,” Downing explained in a recent meeting with Bali’s Governor. “From the price of gas, electricity, to necessities like food.”
British citizens are, he said, focusing on essentials, rather than contemplating expensive holidays to long-haul destinations. Economic instability has resulted in the UK’s annual inflation rate rising to 11.1%, the highest it has been in 41 years.
As regulations loosen and borders open, Bali is seeing growth in their tourism industry for 2023. Officials from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport say that there have been about 1.5 million passengers moving in and out of Bali. As of February, there has been an average of 45,811 passenger movements per day.
Out of all the countries, the largest number of visitors come from Australia. There were 99,075 Australian tourists in total in January. The second highest number of visitors come from Russia. Despite the current conflict, there were 22,703 flying into Bali.
As more international tourists enter Bali, the number of UK visitors has declined. The UK Embassy says there are currently about 100,000 British tourists flying into Bali in comparison to before the pandemic, when up to 200,000 British tourists were travelling to the island.
Hotel owner Koman W. Suteja agrees that there have been changes since the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Suteja founded Komaneka, a boutique hotel that opened in 1998.
He told me: “Bali’s economy relies on tourism, so without the industry the economy [of the island] would hurt very badly.”, Suteja said. Like many businesses in Bali, he faced a period of struggle during the pandemic with lockdowns and closed travel borders.
“There were no tourists because the international airport was closed. So, we had to cater to the national market. But even the [Indonesian] locals couldn’t take holidays because of the lockdown.” He added that in terms of revenue, the hotel wasn’t earning enough.
Now that travel restrictions have been relaxed, Suteja thinks the island has “returned back to normal” as the tourism industry is back in full swing. However, there is a changing demographic of travellers.
“Before the pandemic, there were a lot of UK, Chinese and Japanese people staying in our hotel.” Suteja said. “Nowadays, I see lots of Indian, South Korean and American visitors.”.
He also addressed the increased Russian and Ukrainian community seeking refuge in Bali. “It must be because of the war they have [at] home.” he said.
The conflicts have caused other changes to Indonesia. Last August, there was a price hike on Indonesia’s instant noodles as Ukraine’s wheat imports could not be shipped. Last January, there were about 2,500 Ukrainians flying into Bali, according to an article from Tempo News.
Despite the conflict, Russians and Ukrainians have been living peacefully in Bali, looking to start anew on the island. An article by Channel News Asia says Russian-owned businesses made up over 6.5% of foreign investments in Bali last year, with a majority focused on real estate.
Feature image by Peggy_marco via Pixabay.