Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar. File photo

 

Foreign tourists are choosing to visit Thailand over Bali, according to a senior figure from the Indonesian tourism industry. 

 

Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta, Head of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) in Denpasar, Bali said that tourists are visiting Thailand following the government’s decision to waive mandatory quarantine for international tourists. 

 

When asked the reason as to why Bali had not yet seen any noticeable influx of tourists, Mr Sidharta said that of the eligible countries that are able to visit Indonesia, most flights are arriving in Jakarta and quarantine is still required for foreign tourists.

 

He said tourists are instead opting for Thailand. 

 

"Currently, most foreign tourists are choosing to go to Thailand because Thailand does not require mandatory quarantine," he told local media.

 

The news comes as despite Indonesia being open to foreign tourists since Oct 14 (albeit with mandatory quarantine), not a single international flight has landed at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport.

 

Currently only fully vaccinated tourists from eligible countries can visit Bali. However, they are subject to three day mandatory quarantine which they must pay for themselves. 

 

Those who are partially vaccinated must quarantine for five days. 

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2021-11-16

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Close call though; 7 to Bali and pipped at the post with 8 tourists visiting Thailand.

A troll post has been removed

I'm choosing neither, this time around: Cambodia.

People want less hassle with warm weather, the destination country doesn't really matter that much.

 

No bars = no tourists regardless.

Let's amend that headline to 'Tourists are not visiting Thailand or Bali'.

2 minutes ago, newnative said:

Let's amend that headline to 'Tourists are not visiting Thailand or Bali'.

Or ....The tourist chose Thailand over Bali.

Was he given a nice fat juicy envelope to say that asking for a friend 

5 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

I'm choosing neither, this time around: Cambodia.

Since yesterday I suspect you're not the only one - even I'm considering it ...

5 hours ago, webfact said:

He said tourists are instead opting for Thailand. 

I do not think this is true.

 

I doubt many travellers to Bali are nationals returning and expats with links and are genuine tourists that will come and go, whereas Thailand's inbound are not tourists but returning thais and those with links to the country

At the moment I don't have a great desire to get out of Thailand, I'm double dosed, and can pick carefully where I can visit for some R&R

Might be one of the reasons. 

But also a important one is that next months are high season ( dry) months for Thailand. And low season months ( rain) for Indonesia. 

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

People want less hassle with warm weather, the destination country doesn't really matter that much.

 

No bars = no tourists regardless.

Ok, I do have links to Thailand and am not the average tourist. But there are other regulars who come here because it’s Thailand. If you accept the relatively small risk of getting quarantined and are a “beaches, not bitches” type of person, I don’t see a reason not to come. I enjoy currently the low prices and the vacated beach in Ao Nang / Krabi. There are even small cosy pop-up bars selling cocktails and beer. Just the right time to relax here in peace without mass tourism!

I would probably choose the Dominican Republic over Haiti too.

1 hour ago, Stefanix said:

Ok, I do have links to Thailand and am not the average tourist. But there are other regulars who come here because it’s Thailand. If you accept the relatively small risk of getting quarantined and are a “beaches, not bitches” type of person, I don’t see a reason not to come. I enjoy currently the low prices and the vacated beach in Ao Nang / Krabi. There are even small cosy pop-up bars selling cocktails and beer. Just the right time to relax here in peace without mass tourism!

It's the mass tourism I'm referring to, that's what they want back, tens of thousands of '2 week millionaires' arriving every day - without that it's dead or might as well be.

 

They must be coming to Thailand, the golf courses are putting up the prices to high season as if nothing has happened.

 

Nobody has told them there is no high season.

Surely it has something to do with the lack of direct international flights to Bali, but that place has been overdeveloped and overrated for decades now. Didn't help at all that their brain dead officials said they don't want backpackers. Bali will be about as popular as East Timor for the next few years, and they'll be begging for begpackers soon enough. 

Edited: Tourists are choosing Cambodia over Thailand. Cause? No quarantine, no hassle. 

 

Your move Thailand.

1 hour ago, Rainville said:

Edited: Tourists are choosing Cambodia over Thailand. Cause? No quarantine, no hassle. 

 

Your move Thailand.

Their reopening without quarantine started yesterday. It remains to be seen where tourists will go.

32 minutes ago, hioctane said:

Their reopening without quarantine started yesterday. It remains to be seen where tourists will go.

If potential tourists see the mess siem reap is in I highly doubt many would want to go there. Siem reap without pub street is like Pattaya with no walking street. 

As if these are the only places in the world that tourists can go to. 

 

5 minutes ago, bendejo said:

As if these are the only places in the world that tourists can go to. 

 

Not in the entire world, but Thailand, Cambodia and Bali (and a few nationalities to Singapore) are the only places tourists can go in Southeast Asia.

11 hours ago, Thailand said:

They must be coming to Thailand, the golf courses are putting up the prices to high season as if nothing has happened.

 

Nobody has told them there is no high season.

A lot of hotels, too.

Why do many of these destinations ( Thailand, Bali ) keep saying quality tourists only ? In reality they will all be competing for a small flow of tourists for years to come. 

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

People want less hassle with warm weather, the destination country doesn't really matter that much.

 

No bars = no tourists regardless.

Because in order to have a good time, 100% of tourists not only need to consume alcohol, but they also need to consume it in bars?

1 hour ago, Sqoop said:

Why do many of these destinations ( Thailand, Bali ) keep saying quality tourists only ? In reality they will all be competing for a small flow of tourists for years to come. 

They still think they are special.

But the reality is they are not anymore, it will take them a few more years and mistakes to realize this

TIT.

11 hours ago, Rainville said:

Edited: Tourists are choosing Cambodia over Thailand. Cause? No quarantine, no hassle. 

 

Your move Thailand.

Perhaps it is a well planned method to improve the quality of the Thai tourists......

9 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Perhaps it is a well planned method to improve the quality of the Thai tourists......

Ah-hah!

Sneaky Thai officialdom.

????

A complete guess maybe but the lack of tourists to tourists to Bali could possibly be linked to the number of international flights. Since Bali 'opened' there has been the grand total of zero flights (sorry, can't find the link) I think the geezer in charge of tourism in Bali has a brother who works for TAT.

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

It's the mass tourism I'm referring to, that's what they want back, tens of thousands of '2 week millionaires' arriving every day - without that it's dead or might as well be.

 

It’s the mass tourism what the Thai economy needs, right. But I think its not true that the country doesn’t matter for choosing a warm destination. There are many Thailand lovers also without family or other ties to the country. Family destinations such as Krabi are looking still vacated with many restaurants at Ao Nang closed. But even within a few days of being here I can see an uptrend. I have seen a couple of the few open restaurants being even full. One of the problems is to get the long time closed places back into shape and ready for operation. Some buildings look quite deteriorated. The climate requires continuous maintenance.