February 2009 Arrivals to Bali Down -10.17%

Bali by the Number: Strong January 2009 Arrivals May Shield a Coming General Downturn in Tourist Arrivals.

(4/12/2009) Final arrival figures through the end of February 2009 are now in hand from immigration authorities at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport that confirm that while Bali is enjoying a record strong start to 2009, it may also be sitting at the crest of a cimminent downturn. January-February arrivals totaled 304,013 - a 3.05% improvement over the same two months in 2008 (295,025).

That the salad days of Bali tourism arrivals may be near an end is suggested by the 139,370 foreign arrivals recorded in February 2009, declining -10.17% from the 155,153 foreign tourists who visited Bali in February 2008. This is the first time in over a year that Bali has recorded negative growth in a month-on-month basis.

Shown on balidiscovery.com are comparisons for 2008 versus 2009 arrivals for the January-February period for main markets and main geographical areas.

Countries of Concern

Reflecting the troubled world economy at the moment, the following countries produced less travelers in January-February 2009 than the same period in 2008: Japan (-13.77%), Taiwan (-27.18%), U.S.A. (-7.03%), Germany (-6.74%), U.K. (-2.46%), and the Netherlands (-1.95%).

Countries of Promise

Bucking the gloomy trend elsewhere, the following countries showed improvements in foreign arrivals to Bali year-to-date at the end of February 2009: Australia (+34.64%), People's Republic of China (+19.96%), Malaysia (+21.28%), Russia (+2.98%) and France (+21.35%).

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