The profile of Chinese tourists visiting Bali is no longer the same as it was before the pandemic. Travel industry players say the shift is clear, and the Bali provincial government is being urged to pay close attention to these changes.
The Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Bali has observed a significant transformation in how Chinese visitors travel. According to ASITA Bali Chairman I Putu Winastra, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the preferences and behavior of this key tourism market.
Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were known for traveling in large organized groups. Shopping activities were also a common part of their visits to Bali.
“But after the COVID-19 pandemic, travel patterns have changed. They now tend to travel independently, individually, and if they do travel in groups, it is usually family groups,” Winastra said on Sunday (8/3/2026), as reported by detikBali.
Today’s Chinese visitors are also largely younger travelers who are highly familiar with digital technology. They are more comfortable arranging their trips through online platforms rather than traditional offline services. This trend has created new challenges for travel agencies operating in Bali.
“This means that this younger Chinese market prefers to travel through application platforms and tends to travel independently without using local travel agencies,” Winastra said.
The shift has also affected the economic conditions of travel agencies. Winastra explained that before the pandemic, Bali welcomed around 2 million Chinese tourists. During the pandemic period, that figure dropped significantly to about 500,000 visitors.
Read also: Air Pollution Risks Shortening Life Expectancy of Jakarta Residents
“You can imagine the drop from 2 million to 500,000, and even from that 500,000, only about 30 percent were handled by us,” he said.
Facing this reality, Winastra encouraged travel agencies in Bali to adapt quickly to the evolving behavior of Chinese tourists. Modern travelers, he noted, are increasingly interested in new experiences rather than conventional tour packages. One example is visiting and exploring tourism villages.
At the same time, he believes government support is essential. Regulations are needed to ensure that locally managed travel agencies remain competitive in the changing tourism landscape.
“This means that operators or applications that bring guests to Bali should cooperate with local travel agencies,” he said.
