More Aussies heading to Bali than pre-Covid, official statistics show

Perennial holiday favourite Bali has notched a new milestone, with the number of Australians visiting the Indonesian holiday isle now exceeding 2019 figures.

Bali’s popularity with Australian tourists only continues to climb, with more people visiting the Indonesian holiday isle in November, than before the pandemic.

Bureau of Statistics data showed 117,750 Aussies returned from short term visits to Indonesia in November, up from 117,300 four years ago.

It’s the first time figures have exceeded those in 2019, highlighting the strength of the travel recovery and the ongoing love affair with Bali.

Japan also saw a lot more Australians visiting in November 2023 than in 2019, making the country our fourth ranked overseas destination – its highest ranking since borders reopened.

Second spot was taken by New Zealand, followed by the US, while the UK slipped from fourth to sixth.

Affordability and airline capacity were considered the major reasons for Bali’s iron grip on the number one spot, with eight carriers flying between Australia and the Indonesian holiday isle.

An additional, 2400 seats a week up for grabs from secondary airports are currently being hotly contested by Jetstar and Virgin Australia.

The International Air Services Commission was expected to make a decision next month, with each airline proposing new routes out of either Adelaide, Gold Coast or Cairns.

Don’t Forget Travel Group director Andrew Sullivan said Bali also benefited from a “lack of competition” from other destinations within easy reach of Australia.

“When people look at an overseas holiday and don’t want to fly too far, the options are pretty much Bali, New Zealand or Fiji,” said Mr Sullivan.

“Bali has the advantage of being relatively cheap compared to a lot of other destinations, and people feel comfortable with it. It does feel like a real trip away, because of the culture, the scenery and environment.”

Japan is rapidly growing in popularity among Australians as a holiday destination. Picture: Getty

Mr Sullivan said Japan could give Bali “a run for its money” but it was unlikely to ever knock it off the top spot.

“Japan prior to Covid was just starting to get a real momentum and I think post-Covid that’s picked up from where it left off,” he said.

“The food culture is a big driving force, there’s a real pop culture there and once you get past the language barrier, it’s an easy country to get around, and it’s very diverse.”

Heading in the other direction, New Zealand continued to be Australia’s main source of overseas visitors with 116,350 short term arrivals in November, still below 2019 levels of 120,410.

The US and the UK were next, with China in fourth place. After a strong start, the Chinese recovery would appear to have stalled, with short term arrivals at only 45 per cent of pre-Covid figures.

In contrast, visitors from India and South Korea again surpassed 2019 figures, thanks to a significant increase in direct airline capacity.

Since the pandemic eased and borders reopened, Qantas and Air India have added a number of non-stop routes including Melbourne-Mumbai, Sydney-Delhi and Sydney-Bengaluru.

Access to South Korea has also risen sharply, with five airlines now operating flights to Seoul from Sydney.