Bali’s getting help in some unexpected places for promoting itself as a tourist destination at the moment.
Indian artists, namely dancers, traveling to the island at the end of the month will be promoting the island to one of Bali’s fastest growing tourism markets.
A total of 60 Indian dancers will come to Bali on Jan. 27.
In collaboration with Balinese dancers, a performance initiated by the Bali Indian Association (IAB) will be held at Ksirarnawa Taman Budaya in Denpasar.
“There will be a cultural show. The artists are planning to stay in Bali for five days and will spend their vacation time in Bali,” said IAB secretary, Sonia Kaur, as quoted by Kontan.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said he appreciates the IAB’s initiative and that the collaborative performance should have a positive impact on Bali’s tourism industry.
“This will not only strengthen the relationship between art and culture, but it will also show that Bali is safe to visit,” Pastika said in a statement on Tuesday.
Combatting “hoax” stories, over-hyping the threat of Bali’s Mount Agung volcano and demonstrating that Bali is safe for tourism is a big ‘to-do’ this year for the provincial government.
“This event will be promotional for tourism in Bali, as well as strengthening the existing cultural and art relations,” Pastika said.
After China and Australia, India is one of Bali’s biggest suppliers of foreign tourists.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Bali Province, as many as 243,638 Indian tourists visited Bali from January to November 2017, up 48.25 percent from that same 11-month period in 2016.
