Bali Hit by Middle East Conflict as Foreign Tourist Arrivals Fall

Bali Governor Wayan Koster said the United States–Israel conflict with Iran in the Middle East region has affected the number of international tourist arrivals. “There has been a decline in foreign visitor numbers over the past four days, about 800 or so per day from the Middle East,” Koster said during a beach-cleaning event at Jimbaran Beach, Badung, on Thursday.

Governor Koster noted that although European visitors, who dominate Bali’s international arrivals, usually come via the Middle East route due to a lack of direct flights to Bali, the drop in visitors has been led by Middle Eastern nationals. This is because European travellers can still adjust their departure routes, for example by routing via Singapore or Thailand.

“If it’s Europeans, they will certainly adjust their travel routes; those who previously went via Dubai or Doha may shift away, perhaps to Singapore or Thailand,” he said. “For Europe, direct flights to Bali come from Russia; those travelling through the Middle East (other European countries) cannot go directly, and transferring in Dubai or Doha is no longer possible,” he added.

Therefore, the Bali provincial government hopes the US–Israel conflict with Iran, which has led to the closure of several airspaces in Middle Eastern countries, will end soon. Although he did not specify the difference in the number of Middle East visitors on normal days versus post-conflict days, Koster said the decline in Bali visits is strongly influenced by the escalation of the conflict. “Hopefully the conflict will end quickly; for now the impact is a daily decline of around 800 people, and there will later be a consolidation of routes and hopefully it will stabilise,” said the head of the Bali Provincial Government.

Separately, data from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport shows that from 28 February to 4 March 2026 at least 35 international flights were cancelled due to airspace closures. For arrivals to Bali alone, the airport recorded 15 cancellations on flights operated by Etihad on the Abu Dhabi (AUH)–Denpasar (DPS) route, six by Emirates on the Dubai (DXB)–Denpasar (DPS) route, and six by Qatar Airways on the Doha (DOH)–Denpasar (DPS) route. (Ant)