Bali, Indonesia Sentinel — Bali, Indonesia’s iconic holiday island and international tourism hub, welcomed 6.3 million foreign tourists between January and December 2024. This figure marks a 19.5% increase compared to the same period in the previous year, surpasses the pre-pandemic levels.
According to Tjok Bagus Pemayun, Head of the Bali Tourism Office, visitors from Australia, India, and China remain among the top contributors to international arrivals on the Island of the Gods. Bali has set an ambitious target of 6.5 million foreign tourist arrivals for 2025, an increase of 200,000 from this year, as reported by CNN Indonesia.
The island received numerous accolades from international media in 2024. Bali was named the most beautiful island in Asia by readers of Condé Nast Traveler in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards. It was also crowned the world’s most romantic destination by the World Travel Awards 2024 and ranked first as the best honeymoon destination in TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Awards 2024.
However, Bali also faced criticism. Travel publication Fodor’s included Bali among destinations to avoid in 2025, alongside Barcelona, Venice, and Tokyo, citing concerns over sustainability and overtourism.
The Indonesian government has pledged to position Bali as the heart of the country’s tourism industry, focusing on improving tourism services and managing visitor numbers to alleviate overcrowding.
Bali Travel Patterns
According to CNN Indonesia, Channel News Asia (CNA) also reported that Bali, once renowned for its relaxed atmosphere, now grapples with overtourism challenges as the surge of visitors overwhelms the island’s infrastructure.
Despite these concerns, the Bali Tourism Office maintains that the island has not yet reached overtourism levels. Instead, the issue is described as ‘over-concentration,’ with tourism heavily focused on southern Bali.
“Everything is concentrated in southern Bali – from business activities and traffic congestion to massive construction projects,” Tjok Pemayun said on December 26, as reported by Antara. “But Bali is not just the south; we have East Bali, North Bali, and West Bali.”
Read Also : Bali to Introduce New Travel Patterns in 2025, Ease Tourist Overcrowd
To address this, Bali Tourism Office (Dispar) plans to launch a travel pattern initiative in 2025 to redistribute tourist flows across the island and reduce overcrowding in the southern regions. The initiative aims to distribute visitors across northern, eastern, and western Bali while also encourage tourism development in these region.
While Bali expecting higher foreign tourist visitor in 2025, efforts are underway to create structured travel patterns and improve access to these less-visited regions, aiming to spread economic opportunities more evenly across the island and reduce pressure on the southern tourism hotspots.
(Raidi/Agung)
