With the first working week of 2026 now officially in flow, it’s the time of year when tourism leaders in Bali take stock of the last 12 months and look ahead to the incoming year.
Here at The Bali Sun, we keep a track of all travel trends and targets and share our insights to help tourists, digital nomads, and expats make the most of their time on the island.
It’s official, Bali smashed its tourism targets for 2025. This is an all-time record for the province, with 2025 travel figures even surpassing pre-pandemic numbers.
The record was confirmed by Bali’s Governor Wayan Koster, who revealed that the island welcomed more than 7.1 million international arrivals in 2025.
He explained, “This is a record. Before COVID-19, in 2019, only 6.27 million foreign tourists visited Bali. Before that, it was even lower. Apparently, Bali remains a global attraction; regardless of the issues, foreign tourists still choose Bali.”
Official flight data shows that 7,050,00 international arrivals landed in Bali Airport in 2025, which is why the official figure surpasses 7.1 million, as cruise travel brought 71,000 international tourists to the province. Governor Koster explained, “So, if we add in foreign tourist arrivals by air and arrivals by sea, the total is over 7.1 million. We’re not counting those on land.”
Governor Koster added, “The data has proven that Bali is not deserted; foreign tourist arrivals have even reached a record high.”
However, there was a slight dip in the number of domestic tourists visiting Bali in 2025. There are a number of factors that have contributed to this, including domestic flight availability, domestic flight cost, promotion of alternative destinations nationwide, including the Super Priority Destinations, and recent natural disasters in Sumatra.
Governor Koster explained one of the reasons for the decline is that some of the airline’s aircraft are undergoing maintenance because they are past their due date.”
Noting “Maintenance is needed, so there are fewer flights to Bali. As a result, the number of flights to Bali is constantly full.”
Governor Koster shared, “The total number of foreign and domestic tourist arrivals to Bali in 2025 will reach around 16.38 million, a decrease compared to 2024, when the total number of visits was 16.4 million.”
During a public discussion with the Indonesian Tourism Minister Widiyanti Wardhana, Governor Koster explained, “This is the highest record in 10 years, from 2015 to 2025. Before 2015, it was even lower, so this is extraordinary.”
He spoke to concerns from residents, tourism stakeholders, and travellers that infrastructure in the province is not equipped to deal with this many tourists, let alone more.
Governor Koster shared, “Starting this year, 2026, we have received support from the Minister of Public Works for road infrastructure. The construction of new tourist destinations in Buleleng Regency, Turyapada Tower, will be completed in December 2206, no less than the Eiffel Tower. Transportation issues include the planned subway from Ngurah Rai Airport to Kuta Central Parking starting this April.”
Neither Governor Koster nor Minister Wardhana gave any suggestions about tourism targets for 2026, either on a provincial or national level.
However, Bali has been committed to expanding its tourism sector year on year, to the point that the province has attracted criticism for pursuing growth at any cost.
The unprecedented rate of land conversion from agricultural landscape to commercial and residential properties has attracted concern from local stakeholders.
It is clear that in 2026, Governor Koster and his teams want to crack down on illegal tourism developments, as well as on firmly established tourism businesses that are operating while violating spatial planning laws or operating in violation of their permits and licences.
Governor Koster has been clear that high-quality, culturally respectful, and sustainable tourism is the only way forward for the province, which means that 2026 could be the year that the vision comes to fruition.
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