Bali, Indonesia, experienced a surge of holidaymakers as 871,607 tourists and 98,907 vehicles flocked to the Island of the Gods during the Christmas 2023 and New Year 2024 holidays, spanning from December 19 to December 31, 2023.
The Head of Traffic at the Bali Provincial Transportation Agency, I Putu Sutaryana, revealed that travelers utilized various modes of transportation, including air, sea, and land. The breakdown indicates that 474,911 domestic and international passengers arrived through the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban, Badung, Bali.
Additionally, 396,696 passengers entered Bali via the Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana and the Padangbai Port in Karangasem. This influx marked a 20-22% increase compared to the previous Christmas and New Year holidays, reaching approximately 720,883 visitors.
During this period, the number of vehicles entering Bali through the Gilimanuk Port amounted to 90,556 units, reflecting a 25.2% increase compared to the previous holiday season. Meanwhile, vehicle entries at the Padangbai Crossing Port totaled 8,351 units, showing a remarkable surge of 126.2% compared to the previous New Year holidays.
Sutaryana predicts that the peak of the tourist return flow will occur between January 2 and 3, 2024. Reports indicate that the return flow at the Gilimanuk Port and I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is currently busy but smooth. Sutaryana assured, “Regarding today’s situation, we are coordinating with the Gilimanuk Korsatpel, and the situation is safe and manageable.”
In the same timeframe, 796,015 tourists and 136,277 vehicles left Bali. It’s worth noting that the holiday season in Bali witnessed a notable traffic surge, with a particular incident on December 29, 2023, where total gridlock occurred on the Bali Mandara Toll Road. Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi speculated that the presence of souvenir shops lacking sufficient parking space for visitors’ vehicles contributed to the congestion.
As a consequence, the entry and exit access in the parking area took a considerable amount of time, causing disruptions to traffic on the main roads. Sumadi commented on the issue, stating, “But it is true what is suspected, there are two things: souvenir shops, I’ve mentioned it before, it was discussed thoroughly; logically, if one place has parking for ten, don’t accommodate twenty, set limits, so that when it exceeds, they have to leave.”
Meanwhile, law enforcement mentioned that the traffic surge was also due to 50% of tourists from Java driving their private cars when traveling to Bali.
Source: Kompas
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