BPS Bali Detects Anomaly as Foreign Tourist Arrivals Drop While Hotel Occupancy Rises

Denpasar (ANTARA) - Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Bali has identified an anomaly in April 2026, noting that while the number of international tourist arrivals decreased, hotel occupancy rates (TPK) actually increased.

“It is somewhat contradictory; international tourists are down, but occupancy is up. Usually, April tends to see an increase in occupancy rates based on the last two years, but this is an anomaly because tourist arrivals have declined,” said the Head of BPS Bali, Agus Gede Hendrayana Hermawan, in Denpasar on Tuesday.

Agus Gede reported that the number of international arrivals to Bali in April 2026 totalled 553,328 visits. While this represents a 17.21 per cent increase compared to March 2026, it marks a 6.41 per cent decrease compared to the same month the previous year.

Looking at passport origins, Australian passport holders dominated visits during the month with 146,414 arrivals (up 22.24 per cent), followed by India with 46,513 (up 9.55 per cent), China with 44,447 (up 36.77 per cent), the United Kingdom with 24,248 (up 0.17 per cent), and the United States with 23,986 (up 4.27 per cent).

“Australian passport holders accounted for 26.46 per cent of international tourists visiting Bali last April, followed by India at 8.41 per cent, China at 8.03 per cent, the UK at 4.38 per cent, and the US at 4.33 per cent,” Agus Gede stated.

Despite the growth in specific nationalities, overall arrivals remain below the levels seen in April 2025, which recorded 591,221 visits in a single month. Cumulatively, BPS Bali noted that international arrivals from January to April 2026 were lower than the January-April 2025 period, with a total of 2,019,892 visits compared to 2,042,666, representing a 1.11 per cent decline.

Agus Gede noted that hotel occupancy typically moves in line with tourist arrivals, yet the current data shows a surge in occupancy amidst the year-on-year decline in tourists.

“For April 2026, BPS Bali observed that the occupancy rate for star-rated hotels reached 57.94 per cent, an increase of 0.71 percentage points compared to April 2025. For non-star hotels, the rate was 34.81 per cent, an increase of 1.49 percentage points,” he explained.

BPS Bali could not provide a definitive explanation for this trend, though it is noted that occupancy is heavily influenced by the number of available rooms versus those booked. One potential factor could be a reduction in the number of rooms offered by hotels even as tourists continue to book available space.