The total number of American tourists travelling to Bali has increased to a total of 164,338 visitors, according to recent reports from the Bali Central Statistics agency (BPS). The figures, tracking arrivals between January and October 2017, represent an 18.39 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year.
“Most of these US citizens entered through Ngurah Rai International Airport using direct flights; only 3,130 people came via cruise ships,†said I Gede Nyoman Subadri, who is Head of the Statistics Distribution Department at BPS, in a recent interview with Antara news agency in Denpasar.
Subadri added that US arrivals constituted 3.27 per cent of the total number of foreign tourists coming to Bali, which surpassed 5 million during the January-October period. The figure represents a 23.30 per cent increase compared to the previous year, meaning the Island of the Gods welcomed an additional 948,917 foreign visitors in 2017.
The US ranked sixth overall among the top 10 countries accounting for foreign tourist arrivals to Bali. The top spots are occupied by China, Australia, Japan, India and United Kingdom.
The increase in American tourist arrivals is thought to be a result of the increased awareness of the island since Barack Obama visited recently on vacation with his family. The former President spent a period of his childhood in Indonesia, and continues to visit.
