Tourism Ministry Strategy to Safeguard Bali Tourism Amid Middle East Conflict

Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism will bolster travellers from Asia and the Pacific to maintain Bali’s tourism stability amid the Middle East conflict, which is also affecting international flights. Deputy Minister of Tourism Ni Luh Puspa said the ministry has coordinated with management at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport regarding conditions of flights to the Middle East. She noted that the decline in traffic is currently relatively small, likely because travellers to or from Bali are rerouting their flights.

‘The report from the Bali Airport’s general manager shows the traffic at Bali Airport has declined by only around 0.5 percent. So the likelihood is that those flying to Bali or leaving Bali are rerouting,’ Ni Luh Puspa said on Thursday night (5 March 2026).

Puspa explained that connectivity to Indonesia is still dominated by countries in the Southeast Asia region, such as Malaysia and Singapore. This is what the government will continue to strengthen.

‘If we look at our connectivity hub into Indonesia, it is 28 percent from Malaysia, then 18 percent from Singapore, 11 percent from the Middle East. The rest are from Hong Kong and several other airports,’ she said.

As one of the strategies, the Ministry of Tourism will reinforce the market of tourists from the Asia and Pacific region, so that the impact felt is not too large.

‘We are strengthening our Asia and Pacific markets now, and we hope that by strengthening these markets, the impact of what is happening in the Middle East will not be too large on Indonesian tourism,’ she continued.

In addition, she added that the main markets for foreign tourists to Indonesia in 2025 up to now remain dominated by Malaysia, Singapore, India, China and Australia. However, they will continue to monitor developments in coordination with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Tourism.