direct flights to bali from us, france, india - garuda's grand plan to boost tourism

Garuda, the National Flag carrier of Indonesia is in plans of opening direct flights to Denpasar, Bali from United States, India and France as a massive attempt to boost country's tourism which has been battered by the pandemic.

Through these direct flights Bali will get connected to the famous cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mumbai, New Delhi and France. The Airline is in discussion with the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry and the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry regarding the plan, according to Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra.

“Garuda and the Tourism Ministry have agreed that the only way to boost foreign tourist visits is by introducing direct flights to Denpasar. Hopefully, we can make it through this crisis and start direct flights from countries that have large spending capabilities,” he said during a hearing with House of Representatives' Commission X overseeing tourism on Tuesday.

According to this plan Bali which is the central long term hub of tourism of Indonesia would become the entry point for tourists rather than Jakarta.

“We’ll also fit the schedule to accommodate tourists with morning arrivals and evening departures, so they can spend most of their time on the island,” Irfan added.

After the pandemic, tourism is one of the most hardest hit sector. Ngurah Rai International Airport Bali has seen a 100 percent decrease in the arrival of foreign tourist arrivals in May, compared to last year's May. while Indonesia saw a 86.9 percent dip in overall foreign tourist visits in May, welcoming 163,646 tourists, compared to May 2019.

Bali Airport was accounted for more than half of the International tourist arrivals via air gates and 38 percent of overall foreign tourists in 2019. 

As per the statistics it is also on the top of the wish list of holidaymakers who are seeking to travel after the pandemic. Booking.com survey showed that Bali is listed among the most desirable destinations by the people during the lockdown around the world in March and April.