PIP Lends $5.3m to Boost Bali Tourism

Dion Bisara

The State Investment Agency has loaned Rp 50 billion ($5.3 million) to help build the Amlapura craft market in the Karangasem district of Bali, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The move was expected to help drive the economic activities in local market.

Bali is widely considered the main tourist destination in the country.

The agency, known as the PIP, expected the market to boost the craft industry on Bali’s eastern coast in line with the government ambitious plan to a build cruise ship seaport in the district.

“The craft market is aimed at attracting cruise ship tourists so they do not have to go to other parts of the island,” the Finance Ministry said in the statement.

Bali is constructing a deep port for cruise ships in Tanah Ampo, which is also in Karangasem district. The project, valued at around $30 million, had been halted because of funding problems but Karangasem district chief I Wayan Geredeg said that a new agreement signed by the ministries of transportation, people’s welfare, tourism and creative economy and maritime affairs and fisheries would allow work to resume soon.

Thirty-five cruise ships visited Benoa Port in southern Bali last year, compared to 27 in 2010 and 15 in 2009, according to data from state-run Pelabuhan Indonesia III, which manages the port.

Geredeg said the Tanah Ampo cruise ship terminal would provide another major gateway for tourists to arrive on the island, in addition to Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Indonesia received more than 7.6 million tourists last year with total foreign exchange of $7.6 billion. Total foreign tourist arrivals to Bali rose to 2.8 million last year, from 2.5 million in 2010, data from Statistics Central Agency (BPS) showed. Indonesia expects to welcome 8.5 million foreign tourists this year.