The high number of tourist arrivals to Bali has necessitated the expansion of Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport. This development, which will increase the service target to 32 million passengers, is a positive step for the travel industry in Indonesia.
“This optimization project is to increase airport capacity,” said the General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Ngurah Rai International Airport, Handy Heryudhitiawan.
He said that currently, Ngurah Rai Airport can only accommodate 24 million visits, while it is projected to serve 23.6 million visits until the end of 2024.
This means that the airport’s capacity has almost reached its maximum capacity.
Efforts to accommodate the growing number of tourists include enlarging the waiting room around the departure x-ray scan by utilizing empty spaces at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.
In addition, it has added several domestic, international, and other terminal areas.
According to Handy, it is time to increase the airport’s capacity in Bali. Moreover, the number of passenger flows is growing. The number of foreign airlines and flights to Bali is a factor that contributes to the increase in passenger flow.
In addition, there have recently been many direct flights from outside that go directly to Bali airport, such as Etihad Airways. Etihad Airway inaugurated a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Bali in early June.
Not to mention the airline Garuda Indonesia, which is increasing direct flights from various destinations to Bali. One of them is an increase in direct flights from Australia to Bali, which was previously five times a week to every day.
Handy also claimed to have held talks with the airlines from the two countries, discussing potential routes, flight frequencies, and the expected increase in passenger flow.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reach 5 million by June
The Directorate General of Immigration recorded the arrival of 5,086,765 foreign nationals (WNA) from January to June (the first semester) of 2024.
This number increased by 7.28 percent compared to the same period in 2023 when 4,741,343 foreigners entered Indonesia.
Of all foreigners who entered Indonesia in the first semester of 2024, 68 percent, or 3,470,954 people, used visa-on-arrival (VoA) and visit visas.
The three airports with the most foreign travelers are Soekarno Hatta International Airport—Banten, Ngurah Rai International Airport—Bali, and Yogyakarta International Airport—DIY.
