In just the first half of 2024 (from January to June), Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport handled 11,259,019 passengers and 68,202 flights. This is a 16% increase compared to the same period the previous year, which saw 9,743,788 passengers in 2023.
The general manager of the international airport, Handy Heryudhitiawan, believes these numbers confirm that Bali continues to maintain its image as a world-class tourist destination.
"With the ongoing increase in passenger traffic and flight routes at Ngurah Rai Airport in the first half of 2024, of course, the number of services we provide will also increase,” Handy said.
According to him, the highest number of flights at Ngurah Rai Airport in the first half of 2024 occurred in June, when domestic and international passenger traffic reached 2,075,255 passengers with 11,575 flights.
This is a seemingly small increase compared to May, which saw 2,060,098 passengers. However, it becomes more significant when considering that there were more flights in May—11,918. This means that by June, the occupancy of planes flying to Bali had increased.
“Currently, the average total number of passenger traffic at Ngurah Rai Airport reaches 74,563 passengers per day,” added Handy.
This statistic includes both domestic and international passenger traffic, but if we look at data from the immigration office, it becomes clear that the number of foreigners arriving in Indonesia through Bali is also growing.
In the first six months of this year, the country was visited by 5,086,765 foreign passport holders. This is a 7.28% increase compared to the same period last year. The majority of them—68%—used a visa on arrival, indicating they were likely traveling for tourism purposes. The top three airports receiving the most foreigners are Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta, Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, and Yogyakarta Airport.
Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali confirms that the number of international passengers generally exceeds the number of domestic ones. For example, in the first six months of this year, there were 6,562,090 international passengers (arrivals and departures) compared to 4,696,929 domestic passengers.
Currently, Ngurah Rai Airport serves 22 domestic routes operated by 11 airlines and 36 international routes operated by 39 airlines. The busiest domestic routes in the first half of 2024 were:
- Jakarta - Denpasar: 2,304,112 passengers and 14,488 flights.
- Surabaya - Denpasar: 705,105 passengers and 4,428 flights.
- Makassar - Denpasar: 256,042 passengers and 1,829 flights.
The busiest international routes in the same period were:
- Singapore - Denpasar: 1,337,548 passengers and 6,549 flights.
- Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar: 861,749 passengers and 5,277 flights.
- Perth - Denpasar: 494,757 passengers and 3,292 flights.
Despite Perth being third on this list, the most visitors to Bali in the first six months of the year came from Australia, with 724,311 travelers. Indian tourists were second with 284,699 visitors, followed by Chinese tourists with 231,094 visitors.
This positive trend confirms that interest in Bali is growing, making it likely for the island to set a new record for the number of visitors. This is further supported by several key factors.
Firstly, in the second half of 2024, Bali plans to add new routes to various international destinations, in addition to those recently launched to Phuket and Abu Dhabi.
Secondly, Bali regularly appears in various travel rankings, which, of course, also influences the growing interest in the island.
For example, the magazine Travel+Leisure recently ranked Bali third in its list of the best islands in the world for travel, behind only the Maldives and Vietnam's Phu Quoc. This award is considered prestigious and highly influential in tourists' choices.
This is because the magazine's ratings are based on the reviews of its readers, avid travelers who are invited to share their travel experiences from the past year. They leave their reviews of destinations based on criteria such as natural attractions and beaches, available activities, food quality and restaurants, the friendliness of the locals, and, of course, value for money.
The magazine editors write: "T+L readers echoed praise for Bali residents and their value for money, with one reader summarizing it well: ‘Great beach vacation, delicious food, hospitality.’"
By the way, in 2024, Bali not only ranked among the top islands in the world but also made it into the list of the 25 best hotels in the world.
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