The end of year, which often experiences a high-season rush in Bali in line with the holidays, will probably see flights to the resort island down 30 percent, officials predict.
The estimate was shared by the chairman of flight scheduling of the Indonesian National Aviation Association, Bayu Sutanto.
According to the chairman, the big drop by nearly one third in flights compared to the same period last year is due to the unpredictable conditions of an erupting Mount Agung, which remains on the highest alert level and could blow out a larger eruption at any time.
“Compared to last year, it will maybe be a 25 or 30 percent decline,” Sutanto said, as quoted by Warta Ekonomi.
Holiday-makers have been postponing vacations to Bali to avoid any impact from Mount Agung. While the volcano is located in Karangasem, far from the most tourist-frequented areas of Bali (approximately 75 kilometers from Kuta), the volcano could send ash in the direction of the airport which would cancel flights; the airport shut down for nearly three full days at the end of the November because an ash cloud was in the airport’s flight path.
“People are postponing or diverting their travels, either for personal, family, or business trips,” Sutanto said on Tuesday in Jakarta.
“Christmas and New Year’s in Denpasar will not be as busy as the previous year. People will probably change to other places or abroad like Singapore or Bangkok,” he said.
Indonesian Toursim Minister Arief Yahya likewise acknowledged that Mount Agung has made things difficult for the country in reaching its foreign arrivals goals.
“We lost a million, indeed, the conditions are difficult because if we keep (appealing for tourists) and it turns out there’s an eruption, people’s trust in us will be lost,” Yahya said on Tuesday.
