PHUKET: Interest from Australians in travelling to Bali has waned in recent months. according to a newspaper report today that suggests reaction to the execution of two Australians in Indonesia could be among the factors.
The firing-squad deaths of the two Australians for drugs offences, the mining bust in Western Australia and renewed interest in alternative tropical destinations are listed as reasons for the swing away from Bali in the Sydney Morning Herald article.
Officially, the Bali Government Tourism Office reported a four percent drop in Australian arrivals in May following a long period of enormous growth from the biggest tourist market for the Indonesian island.
Usually in the long-standing rivalry for tourism tropical island supremacy between Bali and Phuket in Thailand, one island benefits when the other suffers a man-made or natural setback.
Whatever benefits Phuket is gaining at present appear negligible.
Searches for Bali hotels on aggregator site Trivago fell by 62 percent in April and 41 percent in May from a year earlier, indicating the numbers of Australians heading to Bali could weaken in the months to come.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the number of Australian tourists heading to Thailand fell by 7.2 percent last year in response to the military coup in May.
By contrast, there was a 20 percent upswing in numbers bound for Bali.
There were industry suggestions at the time that Australians who had planned to go to Thai destinations like Phuket went to Bali instead.
But the political situation has since stabilised, drawing Australian tourists back to Thailand.
One point being made frequently on Phuket is that the sale of businesses associated with tourism to Chinese companies, sometimes with island nominees up-front, has triggered a switch from open marketing to independent European and Australian travellers to package tour operations that rely on greater numbers from China for lower margins.
Australians on the east coast are reported to be taking advantage of lower fares and heading to Hawaii in greater numbers.
The firing-squad deaths of the two Australians for drugs offences, the mining bust in Western Australia and renewed interest in alternative tropical destinations are listed as reasons for the swing away from Bali in the Sydney Morning Herald article.
Officially, the Bali Government Tourism Office reported a four percent drop in Australian arrivals in May following a long period of enormous growth from the biggest tourist market for the Indonesian island.
Usually in the long-standing rivalry for tourism tropical island supremacy between Bali and Phuket in Thailand, one island benefits when the other suffers a man-made or natural setback.
Whatever benefits Phuket is gaining at present appear negligible.
Searches for Bali hotels on aggregator site Trivago fell by 62 percent in April and 41 percent in May from a year earlier, indicating the numbers of Australians heading to Bali could weaken in the months to come.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the number of Australian tourists heading to Thailand fell by 7.2 percent last year in response to the military coup in May.
By contrast, there was a 20 percent upswing in numbers bound for Bali.
There were industry suggestions at the time that Australians who had planned to go to Thai destinations like Phuket went to Bali instead.
But the political situation has since stabilised, drawing Australian tourists back to Thailand.
One point being made frequently on Phuket is that the sale of businesses associated with tourism to Chinese companies, sometimes with island nominees up-front, has triggered a switch from open marketing to independent European and Australian travellers to package tour operations that rely on greater numbers from China for lower margins.
Australians on the east coast are reported to be taking advantage of lower fares and heading to Hawaii in greater numbers.
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/bullets-executed-eight-kill-bali-tourism-benefit-phuket-22357/
I can't believe Mr. Wisdom got it wrong!
Posted by sascha on June 19, 2015 15:14
Editor Comment:
The heading reads: 'Bullets That Executed Eight May Kill Bali Tourism and Benefit Phuket.' Ask Lis and Peter to explain the word ''may'' and its meaning. And of course, any impact will grow more serious in coming months.
I can't speak for 'Mr Wisdom,' but I often get things wrong.