MANGUPURA, balitourismnow.com – The highlight of the Badung Familiarization Trip 2026 was a business-to-business (B2B) tabletop forum that brought together sellers — including hotels, tourist destinations, and travel operators — with buyers such as travel agencies and corporate representatives to directly market tourism packages.
A total of 70 travel agents from India, specially invited by the Badung Regency Tourism Office, met with 28 tourism industry stakeholders, including destination managers, tourism villages, and hospitality businesses, at Imperial Ballroom InterContinental Bali Resort in Jimbaran on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
“We hope tonight’s meeting will lead to further agreements and concrete partnerships, ensuring that this program will generate more Indian tourist arrivals to Bali,” said Head of the Badung Regency Tourism Office, Anak Agung Putri Mas Agung.
Through the Badung Familiarization Trip 2026 program, the government expects participating travel agents to become key ambassadors for promoting Bali tourism in India while helping increase tourist arrivals to Badung Regency and Bali as a whole.
The interactions between sellers and buyers were warm and productive, with the tabletop session leading to several cooperation agreements between Indian travel agencies and tourism businesses in Badung.
“We hope initiatives like this will encourage more Indian travelers to visit the Island of the Gods,” she added.
According to Putri Mas Agung, the number of Indian visitors is currently competing closely with Chinese tourists, who rank third in visitor arrivals to Badung. To accommodate the growing Indian market, the Badung government has been strengthening tourism support facilities, particularly infrastructure development.
The government has prepared major infrastructure projects in South Badung, especially along the western ring road, to help ease traffic congestion in key tourism areas such as Jimbaran, South Kuta, the area in front of Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK), and Canggu.
“During the first term of the current Regent’s administration, we expect infrastructure development in the South Kuta area to be completed this year. Traffic engineering measures have also begun to reduce congestion,” she explained.
From the industry perspective, the government continues to conduct monitoring and evaluation of tourism villages and tourist destinations to ensure readiness for visitors, including cleanliness standards, toilet facilities, and surrounding environmental management.
Putri Mas Agung emphasized that targeting the Indian market is a strategic decision for Badung, especially given Bali’s close spiritual and cultural connection with India.
“There are many Indian restaurants in Bali, and that clearly shows how significant the Indian market has become for the island,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Head of Marketing at the Badung Regency Tourism Office, I Ketut Gde Widiartha Negara, explained that the Familiarization Trip represents a new promotional approach aimed at bringing international travel industry players closer to Badung’s tourism potential.
Initially, the program targeted both the Middle East and Indian markets. However, due to current geopolitical uncertainties, the focus has shifted more strongly toward India.
The 70 participating travel agencies were invited to explore tourism destinations across South, Central, and North Badung.
“We invited Indian travel agents to experience attractions in Central and North Badung so that tourist visits can be distributed more evenly, rather than being concentrated only in South Badung,” he said.
According to him, India shares strong cultural and spiritual ties with Bali, making it one of Badung’s most promising tourism markets.
“In Badung, the number of visitors from China and India remains very competitive, which gives us confidence that the Indian market has tremendous potential,” he added.
India’s massive population and close geographic proximity to Indonesia also make it a highly attractive market. Indian travelers are known for their enthusiasm for travel, and this initiative aims to further increase Indian tourist arrivals to Indonesia, Bali, and particularly Badung.
One Table Top participant stated that the Indian market has potential for Bali tourism. Indians don’t care about seasons when it comes to traveling. They travel whenever they feel like it.
The Indian MICE segment typically arrives from January to August, but leisure visitors are constantly available, with no respite. The abundance of Indian restaurants proves that Indian tourists are increasingly visiting Bali. Indian tourists come from various segments, including weddings, MICE, and leisure.
The Indian economy is very strong. They are predominantly affluent. Their stays last five days and four nights. Before COVID-19, they typically stayed four days and three nights, but after COVID-19, the trend has changed, with longer stays of at least five days, a week, or even three weeks.
Visiting Tourist Destinations Across Badung
The Badung Familiarization Trip 2026 is part of Badung’s strategy to increase Indian tourist arrivals to Bali. Held over four days from May 12–15, 2026, the program invited travel agents from various regions of India to directly experience the tourism potential of Badung Regency.
The itinerary combined cultural, educational, adventure, and business networking activities. Throughout the program, participants were accommodated at Kuta Paradiso Hotel.
The first day began with a traditional Balinese welcome ceremony at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, including flower garlands and cultural performances. Participants later attended a welcome dinner and cultural show at Pandawa Beach.
On the second day, participants joined educational and cultural tours to several destinations in North Badung, including a local chocolate factory, Sangeh Monkey Forest, Sulangai Tourism Village, and the scenic Goa Gong Waterfall.
They were also introduced to Bali’s spiritual tourism through visits to Pura Kancing Gumi and an educational honey-farming experience at Pondok Madu.
On the third day, participants enjoyed an ATV adventure activity in Bongkasa Village, one of Badung’s special-interest tourism destinations.
The program also included a visit to Taman Ayun Temple before participants returned to their respective countries. As one of Bali’s iconic cultural landmarks, the destination provided a memorable closing experience for all attendees.
The main agenda concluded with a tabletop meeting and networking session connecting Bali tourism industry players with Indian travel agents. The event served as a direct promotional platform for local tourism businesses to expand international partnerships.
Through the arrival of these travel agents, the Badung Regency Tourism Office hopes Bali tourism destinations can be promoted directly to Indian travelers through travel packages sold in the Indian market. [buda]