As reported by the State News Agency ANTARA, a total of 1.4 million foreign tourists visited Bali during Q1 2026 (January-March).
The Chief of the Bali State Statistics Agency (BPS), Gede Hendrayana Hermawan, revealed the three-month arrival numbers on Tuesday, 05 May 2026.
”The cumulative number of foreign visitors to Bali from January to March reached more than 1.4 million, or 1,466,546 tourist visitors,” said Hermawan.
Agus Gede stated this number represents an increase over the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2025, when there were 1,451,445 foreign tourist visitors.
”So, compared to January-March 2025, the number of visits in January-March 2026 represents a 1.04 percent increase,” he said.
By nationality, BPS found that Australian foreign tourists accounted for the largest share of arrivals during the first three months of 2026, with 354,079 visitors, a 5.76 percent increase compared to January-March 2025.
Other nationalities include China, which saw a 20.22 percent increase with 157,242 visitors. India experienced a 0.25% decrease, with 116,943 visitors. South Korea saw a 13.32 percent decrease with only 68,873 visitors. The United Kingdom saw a 4.76 percent decrease with 63,364 visitors.
Although the January-March 2026 figures showed a positive trend when compared to the same period previously, Agus Gede revealed that foreign tourist visits actually decreased month-on-month.
In March 2026, the number of direct foreign tourist arrivals to Bali totaled 472,070, a 4.11 percent decrease compared to February’s total arrivals.
”There’s been a slight difference in the pattern over the past three years. In 2024, the trend from January to February to March continued to increase month by month. In 2025, it fluctuated from January to February, then decreased in February, then increased again in March. In 2026, the trend was actually decreasing from January to February to March. Hopefully, there will be an increase in Q2 2026, if the geopolitical situation returns to normal,” said Agus Gede.
BPS Bali observed several events in March 2026 that affected total tourism visitor numbers. These events included religious holidays and flight cancellations due to the continuing conflict in the Middle East.
Fortunately, during that month, a luxury cruise ship docked at Benoa Harbor, boosting foreign tourist arrivals.
In March 2026 alone, BPS Bali recorded the highest number of foreign tourists visiting Bali, at 119,777, a 20.35 percent increase from February. India followed with 42,460 visitors, representing a 14.35 percent increase.
”Then, there were 32,497 visits from China, a decrease of 58.79 percent. This significant decrease is likely due to the Chinese New Year celebrations in February, which resulted in relatively high numbers of Chinese tourists arriving, which then returned to normal levels in March,” he said.
Furthermore, in March, British tourists increased by 25.32 percent, reaching 24,206 visits, and United States tourists increased by 37.05 percent, reaching 23,003 visits.
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