JAKARTA, BALI ,September 18, 2016 (Antara News): ali Island, Indonesia’s most famous tourist resort, and India, share a striking similarity: both have a Hindu majority population. The people of Bali, and even those in several parts of Indonesia, also share the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics of India. Bali and India, however, also have their own unique culture, traditions and characteristics. It is reported that during his visit to Java and Bali in 1927, Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, was so enamored by Bali that he said, “Wherever I go on the island, I see God.” Then, 23 years later in 1950, Indias then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hailed Bali as the “Morning of the World”.
In the past, Bali was not a favorite destination of Indian tourists. But lately, thanks to intensified promotional activities in India organized by the Indonesian government, the number of Indian tourists visiting Bali has shown a relatively significant surge. In addition to tourist promotion, the Indonesian government’s visa free policy has also helped to significantly boost the number of foreign tourists. India is one of the nearly 100 countries that receive the visa-free facility. From January to July 2016, the number of Indian tourist arrivals in Bali recorded the highest increase, with 107,046 visitors, or a 59.07 percent rise, from 67,296 in the same period of the previous year. The Bali tourism office has set a target to receive 4.4 million foreign tourists this year.