Badung, The Indonesia Post – As many as 210 passengers on a plane from China on a charter flight with Lion Air with flight number JT2648 arrived at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Badung Regency, Bali, Sunday.
The charter flight was the first flight from China to Bali after the Chinese Government allowed its citizens to return to traveling abroad since January 8.
“So this is an official first. This is a good momentum to return Chinese tourists to Bali,” said Deputy for Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Ni Made Ayu Marthini.
Upon arrival at the Bali Airport International Terminal, the 210 tourists who departed from Shenzhen, China, were immediately greeted with flower garlands, traditional Balinese dances and lion dance arts.
Ni Made Ayu Marthini said that her party hoped that after the arrival of the first flight there would be more tourists from China arriving on the Island of the Gods.
“The target set by the government is 255,300 Chinese tourists. That’s a target, but we hope and try to exceed this target even if it can be like in 2019,” she said.
She added that based on the information received, the Chinese Government starting February 6 will also begin releasing tourist groups to a number of countries in the world, including Indonesia.
“They have also stated that Indonesia is one of the destination countries. And all flights that previously obtained permits can also be opened as well. So I think after this Chinese New Year there will be more planes coming directly to Bali,” added Ni Made Marthini.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster revealed that the return of tourists from China is believed to revive Bali tourism.
“We hope that tourism will revive like a normal situation, namely 6.3 million tourists a year. We hope at least 4.5 million this year,” said Governor Koster while welcoming the tourists.
Chinese Consul General (Consul General) in Denpasar Zhu Xinglong explained that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were around 1.3 million Chinese citizens traveling to Bali in 2019.
According to him, after this first flight, in the near future there will also be a number of direct flights from China arriving in Bali.
“We will also encourage cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai to make more direct flights to Bali. And in February there will be more planes from China to Bali,” said Zhu Xinglong. (mhn/bbs)
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