Aircraft shortage and 'zero-dollar' tours may hamper recovery Read more at straitstimes.com.
BALI — Business may only be at a fraction of the levels reached three years ago, but Mr Putu Darmaya, founder of tour and resort operator Caspla Bali is confident a tourism recovery is finally at hand.allowing its citizens to travel abroad freely for the first time in nearly three years. Since then more than 10,000 holiday makers from China have arrived at the popular Indonesian island of Bali.
In better days before the pandemic, he employed 200 staff and had in 2019 taken out a 50 billion rupiah bank loan to add boats and expand his 26-room resort on Nusa Penida. He’s now preparing to ramp up business again. Tourism officials say the recovery will be slow as airlines struggle for aircraft and Bali aims for higher-spending travellers.
Known as “zero-dollar tours”, tourists were lured with free — or almost free — flights, food and accommodation only to be pressured once in Bali into buying goods made in China such as silk apparel and kitchen appliances that would be delivered to their homes back in China. These schemes were estimated to have diverted about US$1,500 in revenue per traveller away from local businesses.
Longer term, though, the industry will need to contend with an aircraft shortage which crimps the ability of airlines to add capacity, experts have said.
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