Asita Highlights Shifts in Chinese Tourists' Visiting Patterns in Bali

ASITA Bali, the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Association of Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA), highlighted changes in the visitation patterns of Chinese tourists to the Island of the Gods. The shift is said to affect the growth of income for Bali’s travel agents.

Chairman of ASITA Bali, I Putu Winastra, said new directions in the tourism market began to emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, he explained, Chinese tourists always travelled in groups and shopped on every visit.

‘But after the COVID-19 pandemic, travel patterns changed. They tend to travel independently, individually, and even when in a group they may be family groups,’ said Winastra, on Sunday (8 March 2026).

Winastra said the change in travel patterns among Chinese tourists poses a challenge for Bali’s travel agents. He added that Chinese tourists nowadays are largely young people who are tech-savvy and accustomed to booking via apps rather than offline.

‘That means the Chinese market of young people is more inclined to travel via app platforms and tends to be independent without using local agents,’ Winastra said.

According to him, this pattern also affects the economy of travel agents. He cited the number of Chinese visitors having declined from a total of 2 million visits before the pandemic to 500,000 visits post-pandemic.

‘Imagine going from 2 million to 500,000, and from the 500,000 only about 30 percent is handled by us,’ he said.

Winastra urged travel agents to adapt to the changes in the Chinese market’s travel patterns. He said tourists now want new travel experiences— for instance, by exploring tourism villages.

He encouraged the government to create regulations so that travel agents managed by local communities can compete. ‘In other words, operators or apps that bring visitors to Bali should work together with local travel agents,’ he concluded.