KONTAN.CO.ID - BALI. Bali International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai's management stated their optimism over the rise in number of foreign visitors, which would begin from the early New Year until February 2018 during the Chinese New Year holiday.

"We predicted Chinese tourists to be a significant stimulus for the international passenger growth," I Gusti Ngurah Rai Communication Department Head, Arie Ahsanurrohim, said at Kuta, Badung, on Monday.

Arie hoped that the flight cancellation for regular and chartered flights from that country would start to recover earlier next year.

He added that the flight seat fulfillment rate for the international flights from Australia had already risen close to 100 percent.

Meanwhile, for this year, Christmas and end-of-year's peak season was still dominated by domestic tourists, just like previous years.

At the same time, foreign tourists were still dominated by those from Asia Pacific nations such as Australia, India, and Malaysia.

Christmas and New Year Overseeing Post at Ngurah Rai Airport recorded a small rise in the number of domestic visitors, which had risen to 17.383 compared to 17.378 last year for the period from Dec 18 to 24.

Arie predicted that various local tourists still focused on their religious agendas and were optimistic that their holiday visits would start the day after.

Meanwhile, for international flights, the data show declining number from 14.588 visitors to 14.274 this year.

The decline was affected not just by Mount Agung's rising volcanic activity but also with the flight's seat fulfillment rate.

Editor: Yudho Winarto