Forty-three foreign tourists visited the island of Bali in the first half of this year, a drop of 99.99 percent compared to the year-ago period, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in Bali informed.

Bali had received 1,069,171 foreign tourists in the January-June 2020 period, chief of BPS Office – Bali province, Hanif Yahya, said in a press statement released on Monday.

Of the 43 tourist arrivals in the January-June 2021 period, 10 were recorded in January, 12 in February, three in March, nine in April, eight in May, and one in June, he informed.

“The enforcement of travel restrictions contributed to a shortfall in the number of tourist arrivals in Bali,” he said.

Meanwhile, chief of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, Putu Astawa, said the drop in the number of tourist arrivals reflected the ongoing pandemic situation.

“(The data on tourist arrivals) is logical. Indeed, our tourism currently suffers greatly due to the pandemic,” he said.

Data from the BPS Office also show the room occupancy rate at star hotels in Bali reached 16.58 percent in June 2021, up 6.33 points compared to 10.35 percent the previous month.

Meanwhile, the room occupancy rate in non-star hotel hotels stood at 6.79 percent, up 1.50 points compared to May 2021.

The average length of stay at star hotels in Bali in June 2021 reached 1.88 days, down 0.14 points compared to 2.02 days in May 2021.

Meanwhile, the average length of stay at non-star hotels in the province in June 2021 was 1.70 days, up 0.19 points compared to 1.51 days the previous month. (ANT)