High Air Fares Expected to Keep Domestic Visitor Numbers to Bali Modest

Bali’s domestic hotel guest share is not expected to surge significantly during Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr) 2026. The projected increase is around 10-15 percent compared with normal days. This was conveyed by I Gusti Agung Rai Suryawijaya (ARS), Deputy Chair of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Bali, who also serves as Chair of PHRI Badung. ‘Lessons from last year show that the target for domestic tourists was not achieved due to competition from other domestic regions. So even with this increase, we are grateful,’ he said when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. PHRI Bali targets hotel occupancy of 60-70 percent during the peak Lebaran holiday season in 2026.

Nevertheless, a range of constraints that lead domestic tourists to delay travel to Bali are feared to hinder the target’s realisation. ‘Flight or ticket prices remain expensive for domestic travel. In fact, it is cheaper to travel to Singapore or Vietnam,’ ARS said when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

In addition, the proliferation of many developing new tourist destinations adds to the reasons for the modest rise in domestic hotel guests in Bali. ‘In Java itself it is cheaper because road infrastructure is now good via toll roads, and you can travel with your family in large groups,’ he said.

The unstable economic conditions also contribute to reasons why Bali hotel guests may not be as numerous as usual during Lebaran 2026. ‘But there will still be an increase compared to usual because the Indonesian domestic market is very large from a total population of around 260 million. About 20 percent of that population are people who also have the means to travel,’ he explained.

Finally, the unpredictable weather conditions through March 2026 are also a consideration for travellers holidaying in Bali. ‘The weather in March isn’t very friendly, you know. So there are many natural disasters and so on,’ he concluded.