The last tourist from Japan, the first from Australia

Denpasar – Kenji Kawaguchi from Osaka, Japan, was the last foreign tourist to leave Bali in 2002, while Proting from Sydney, Australia was recorded as being the first tourist to set foot in Bali for the year 2003.
The farewell of the last tourist and the welcoming of the first were conducted by the Head of the Department of Tourism, I Gde Pitana at the Ngurah Rai Airport on the 31st of December 2002 and the 1st January 2003. This is a tradition that is performed every year at the airport as a means of promotion. The final and first tourist was given a souvenir. “Visitors for the Balinese are respected people,” said Pitana.
Pitana announced that hotel occupancy on the 31st of December reached an average of 77.74%, with a total of 5,000 tourists holidaying in Bali. “This shows that tourism in Bali is starting to return to normal,” Pitana stated.
Over the Christmas and New Year break, Bali was filled with tourists, especially domestic tourists. They came from large cities in Java, such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya to welcome in the new year in Bali. Their arrival helped to increase the occupancy of hotels in Bali, especially in the areas of Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Sanur and Kuta.
According to Pitana, hotel occupancy at then end of December and the start of January rose dramatically compared to the weeks following the bombing. Hotels in the Nusa Dua area reached an occupancy rate of 85.27%, in Kuta occupancy reached 84.67%, Sanur 66.92%, Gianyar and Buleleng54.32% and 50% respectively.
“Even though some countries are still issuing travel warnings not to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, unless absolutely necessary, it is obvious foreign tourist are still visiting Indonesia,” said Pitana. (dp)