Bali bounces back for 2001

Bali bounces back for 2001

Bookings increase as island overcomes negative publicity

BALI and Lombok are recovering well from negative political publicity earlier this year. Bali is now the third best-selling destination for Tropical Locations, which has six new properties for next year.

Premier Holidays product manager Asia David Carlaw reports that forward bookings for Lombok for 2001 are showing every sign of reaching levels achieved in 1999, following a substantial fall in demand this year.

“Lombok’s problems earlier this year, which came at the peak booking period from January to March, caused a dramatic decline in demand for Lombok and also had an adverse, – though not quite as dramatic – effect on sales to Bali,” he said.

Bali is Premier Holidays’ third best-selling destination, and Carlaw said the decline in bookings appears to be just a temporary blip in demand for what is a steadily growing destination.

“Forward sales for next year are encouranging and Lombok in particular will be very competitive as several hoteliers have dropped prices in order to attract back custom after the troubles.”

A seven-night Kuala Lumpur/Bali combination leads in at £820 per person with room-only hotel accommodation, flights and transfers.

Thomas Cook Holidays maintained a healthy market share to Bali and Lombok at the end of 1999/early 2000 and the programme for 2001 features an additional five multi-centre breaks incorporating Bali, plus a series of locally-escorted independent tours.

The lead-in price for next year is £665 per person for five nights at either Puri Santrian Resort between March 1 and June 30 or Grand Mirage between January 7 and June 30, which includes flights with Malaysian Airlines to Kuala Lumpur and on to Bali.

However, business to Bali is down for Silverbird Travel, due to lack of availability. Director Paul Graham said: “Bali is growing in popularity and is so cheap that the world and his wife are doing it. Our market is traditionally late-booking, and seats between now and December are scarce.”

Distant Dreams has added the all-inclusive four-star Melia Benoa to its Bali portfolio, located in Bali’s newest resort area Tanjung Benoa, neighbouring Nusa Dua, a popular area with watersport enthisiasts.

Distant Dreams product manager Christina Hunter said: “Bookings-wise we are definitely seeing an increase.

“There is certainly a market for all-inclusives and the Melia Benoa works well because of the all the water sports options available.”

Lead-in price is £796 for five nights on a deluxe room all-inclusive basis, until the end of the year.

Spoilt for choice: from the rice fields of Bali to the shoreline of Lombok this region caters for all tastes

Market update

sample product

PRemier holidays: will be increasing Bali and Lombok pages to 14 in its 2001 brochure. Several hotels are offered as well as Bali extensions to Ubud and Candidasa and twin-centre combinations with Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. An 18-night tour taking in Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Lombok and Singapore from £1,198.

thomas cook: the 15-day Toraja Highlands Tour which includes Singapore, Sulawesi, Torajaland and Bali and reappears in the Worldwide Faraway Collection brochure for 2001. Lead-in price is £1,295 per person between June 1-15 based on two sharing, including flights from London Heathrow to Singapore, and specified meals and excursions.

Bales worldwide: launched its expanded 2001 Inspirational Journeys brochure with a stand-alone tailor-made section at the start of each major destination highlighting product, hotel and activity ideas. Bali is a popular add-on to escorted journeys and a seven-night bed-and-breakfast package at the Bali Hyatt leads in at £985.

ba holidays: has introduced Le Meridien Nirwana Golf and Spa Resort for 2001. Lead-in price is £719 per person for travel until 30 November 2000 based on five nights’ bed-and-breakfast accommodation.

hayes and jarvis: offers the Sheraton Laguna Nusa Dua as its Connoisseur choice in its 2000/2001 brochure. Also new is the Bali Highlights Tour which takes in Lovina, Candidasa and Ubud, which allocates beach time before and after the tour.

Selling points

Make a buck with Bali

Sell a tailor-made extension following an escorted tour or when designing an independent itinerary: Bali is full of hotels and resorts catering to every taste from honeymooning couples to families. A Bali holiday is as busy or as relaxing as is required. There is much potential for selling multi-centre product incorporating Bali. Bales’ 2001 Inspirational Journeys brochure features ideas such as a journey between Bangkok and Singapore on board the Eastern and Oriental Express or a stay at Singapore’s infamous Raffles hotel.

Sell an independent tour: the Thomas Cook Singapore programme includes three independent tours from Bali stopover destinaton Singapore. These include the Eastern and Oriental Express train to Penang, a Tioman Island Escape and Historical Malacca – and a selection of tailor-made multi-centre holidays.

Sell a flight upgrade: if economy-class flights are full, Garuda’s premium-economy class is a useful alternative and Malaysia Airlines also offers a reasonable business-class supplement fare for the three-hour Kuala Lumpur-Denpasar sector, when purchased as part of an international flight. Apart from the added in-flight comfort this option allows clients to use business-class facilities after the long London to Kuala Lumpur flight.

Sell Bali’s variety:

Bali has stunning scenery, soft-adventure activities, beach resorts, fantastic shopping and authentic cultural centres like Ubud. It’s also one of Asia’s hot-spots when it comes to pampering, and hotels boast some of the top spas in the region. Some hotels have sister properties on nearby Lombok. British Airways Holidays sells the five-star Oberoi Bali from £945 per person until November 30, based on five nights at the Oberoi Bali, which offers twinning opportunities with the Oberoi Lombok.

Peace and quiet:Bali has a huge variety of hotels

Things to do

Bali

Get physical: take a raft trip along the Ayung River past waterfalls and jungle flaura and fauna; take a joint rafting and elephant safari tour; do a camel safari; or visit Waterbom Park.

Breakfast belcher:get up early and cycle down Gunung Agung volcano in time for sunrise.

On the road: hire a Suzuki Jeep and drive to Lake Batur and on to Mount Batur.

Check your handicap:and play a round of golf at the Handara Kosaido Country Club which has an 18-hole course inside a crater.

Get pummelled: indulge in a mandi lulur. The traditional pampering treatment enjoyed by Indonesian brides-to-be starts with a body scrub and massage, culminating in a flower-filled bath. There are literally hundreds of spas dotted around the island.

Festive spirit: join the party and attend a traditional ceremony. The Balinese do festivals well and are one of the few cultures in the world capable of turning a funeral into a cause for celebration.