The amount of Australians visiting Bali has dropped in the last year, as Chinese tourists continue to flock to the Indonesian island in huge numbers.
Figures from Bali’s statistic agency reveal China had a 24 per cent share of visitors to the picturesque tourist destination compared to Australia’s 19 per cent.
Chinese people visiting Bali spiked by a whopping 40 per cent, while Australia’s visitors dropped by 4 per cent.
Australian tourists are pictured having a great time at the Potato Head Beach Club in Bali
Australian tourism numbers in Bali have declined but Bali is still a popular tourist destination (pictured above, Australian tourist enjoying the island’s perfect weather)
The country with the biggest rise in Bali interest was India, which recorded a 45 per cent spike in visitors to Indonesia’s paradise.
Americans are also increasingly taking an interest in Bali, with the country recording a 12 per cent spike in the number of visitors to take total tourism numbers to 191,000.
In total, Bali received nearly 5.7 million visitors in 2017, up from 4.9 million visitors in 2016.
The country has received negative publicity in the Australian media relating to volcano eruptions disrupting flights.
China had a 37 per cent spike in the number of tourists visiting the country, overtaking Australia
Back in 2010, just 648,000 people visited Bali, compared to the 1.1 million who holiday there today.
Head of Bali’s Central Statistics Agency Adi Nugrhoho the labelled Australia the ‘Kangaroo Country’ in an interview with Antara.
‘Although the amount of people from the Kangaroo Country to Bali was reduced, it is still ranked second most in supplying tourists to the island after China,’ he said.
Australians in Bali this month have been singing the nations praises in social media posts.
‘Thank you for showing the real beauty of Bali,’ one user said in a message to Travel Guides.
‘It’s really good to show another perspective for those who haven’t been to Bali yet.’
Another user said: ‘If you’ve ever been to Bali you know it’s one of the hardest places to ever leave. I came home and worked my butt off and now I’m heading back there knowing that I don’t have to come back if I don’t want to.’
Americans tourist numbers in Bali have also spiked by 12 per cent as the nation becomes more popular
Total tourism numbers in Bali are in the rise again in 2017, up to 5 million compared to 4 million in 2015