China Airlines has reopened direct connections between Taiwan and the Indonesian tourism hotspot, Bali.
One of Southeast Asia's most popular tourism spots, the Indonesian island of Bali, has been devastated by the pandemic. Denied the hordes of Australians who usually flock there, the tourism industry has been in the doldrums for the last few years. Now, slowly, airlines are returning to the destination.
While the Australians might have been the loudest, they are not the only tourists who fall in love with Bali. The North Asian market is also central to Bali's prosperity, so the arrival of China Airlines flight CI771 on Friday was a welcome boost to the local economy. While reports are floating about headlining the resumption of travel between China and Bali, it should be noted that China Airlines is the flag carrier of Taiwan.
The China Airlines flight departed Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) at 10:08 on Friday, with the Airbus A330-300 taking just under five hours to cover the 2,360 miles (3,800 kilometers) to Bali. It landed on Bali at Denpasar Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) at 15:01, carrying 163 passengers.
After a quick turnaround, the A330 departed for Taipei at 16:21. The route was suspended on April 26, 2020, when the last China Airlines flight departed at 15:30, coincidentally, or perhaps not, operated by the same aircraft that resumed the service, B-18317.
The direct Taipei-Bali service will operate on Tuesdays and Fridays, although there are daily flights to Taipei from Jakarta, Singapore, or Kuala Lumpur.
Technically speaking, the largest number of visitors came from Australia, but the most money was likely spent by visitors from China, from both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Last week, the PRC's Ambassador to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Deng Xijun met with Bali Governer Wayan Koster when the pair discussed the future of tourism.
The Sun reported that Koster told Ambassador Xijun:
"We will wait for the return of tourists from China, which before the pandemic was one of the countries from which most tourists came to Bali. I beg the Honorable Ambassador to encourage the Chinese government to allow their citizens to Bali."
Xijun reportedly replied, "I believe that with time and recovery, Chinese tourists will come back to Bali…I also congratulate you on the post-pandemic handling and recovery, which I consider extraordinary so that conditions are now conducive [for the return of Chinese tourists].
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The airport said that as of August, 23 airlines from 12 countries serve 22 international routes from DPS. There are 12 airlines yet to resume services to Bali, including from Russia, Brunei, and New Zealand.
Stakeholder relations manager Taufan Yudhistira said that from January to July this year, Bali airport served 1.27 million people. This is just 16% of the 7.93 million for the same period in 2019, illustrating how destructive the virus has been to Bali tourism. In 2019, 116,099 visitors arrived from Taiwan, and Taufan said, "With the operation of China Airlines, it is hoped that we can revive international passenger movements."
Source: Bali Sun
Journalist – A professional aviation journalist writing across the industry spectrum. Michael uses his MBA and corporate business experience to go behind the obvious in search of the real story. A strong network of senior aviation contacts mixed with a boyhood passion for airplanes helps him share engaging content with fellow devotees. Based in Melbourne, Australia.