Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships. Officials, and a port official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo) |
Related
articles
- Less Crime Against Foreigners in Bali
- German Gets 7 Months for Bali Pot Bust
- Bali Profits From Business of Soul-Searching
- Learning Tourist Lingo A Must for Bali Police
- Bali Shuts Down for Nyepi
Denpasar.
Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships, and a
port official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island.
Iwan
Sabatini, the general manager of Pelabuhan Indonesia III, which manages Benoa
Port in southern Bali, said on Monday that 35 cruise ships berthed at the port
last year, compared to 27 in 2010 and 15 in 2009.
“That
number exceeded our target. We were really happy,” Iwan said.
The target
for this year, according to Iwan, is 28 visits. That should not be too
difficult to achieve, with Iwan saying 38 cruise ships had already indicated
tentative plans to stop at Bali in 2012.
The first
of those 38, the Legend of the Sea, a luxury cruise ship operated by
Miami-based Royal Caribbean, is scheduled to berth at Benoa this month.
The
264-meter-long ship was scheduled to stop at the port last year but was unable
to stop because the water was not deep enough in front of the jetty.
Iwan said
they had completed work to deepen the sea to at least nine and a half meters
for a width of 150 meters all along the jetty.
Bali is
constructing a deep port for cruise ships in Tanah Ampo, in Karangasem
district. The project had been halted because of funding problems but the
Karangasem district chief, I Wayan Geredeg, said a new agreement signed by the
ministries of transportation, people’s welfare, tourism and the creative
economy, and maritime affairs and fisheries would allow work to resume soon.
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.
More than
2.5 million foreigners visited Bali in 2010, and the target for last year was
2.6 million to 2.8 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment