BY JAMES WILKINSON IN SEMINYAK, BALI
Australians are happy to spend more and stay longer in Bali, even with the holiday island becoming increasingly expensive in recent years.
Many hotels on the island are reporting a spike in Australian business, including the brand new W Retreat and Spa Bali-Seminyak, which officially opened last weekend (Jul 2).
W Retreat and Spa Bali-Seminyak General Manager Craig Seaward said the property is seeing strong business from Australia at present and more is expected this year.
“Australia is our strongest market and we are expecting that to continue this year,” he told HM magazine.
In recent years, Bali has been becoming increasingly expensive for Australian travellers, particularly on the back of rising costs thanks to strong demand for hotels and flights, but the market shows no signs of slowing down.
In fact, Seaward said Australians are spending a week on average at the upper-upscale property (rates start around USD$360 per night), well up from the three- to four-day average stay of Aussies in Bali just a few years ago.
In a move to stimulate further traffic to Bali, Garuda Indonesia, the only full-service airline flying from Australia to Denpasar, is offering $608 return airfares, including taxes, for a limited time.
The sale, which is on sale until July 8 for travel until 19 December, has been welcomed by Seaward and other Hoteliers in Bali.
Garuda Indonesia Senior General Manager Australia/SWP Bagus Y. Siregar said the sale was on offer to help launch a new range of frequencies in Asia and a revamped onboard product offering.
“Garuda Indonesia is continuing its expansion throughout Asia and has recently enhanced its flight frequencies and connection times to its Asian gateways,” he said.
“To celebrate the launch, we’re delighted to be offering our Executive and Economy class customers exceptionally priced fares to all-time favourite destinations throughout Asia”.
Garuda has recently introduced new flatbed seats in Business Class, a new menu designed by award winning Indonesian chef William Wongso and a Video on Demand service in all seats offering 25 films and 250 audio tracks.