One of Australia’s leading airlines, Virgin Australia has returned to the runway at Bali’s International Ngurah Rai Airport this week after two years away. The relaunch of the airline’s Australia to Bali routes has been a long time coming and brings a wave of relief for the tourism sector on the island. Australians make up the highest number of international visitors to Bali. The return of Virgin Australia to Bali airport will see international arrivals from Australia increase significantly.<br><br>On June 15 155 passengers boarded the first Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Denpasar. 120 people were on board as the aircraft made its way back to Sydney the next day. All Virgin Australia flights, including those from Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, have resumed service as of Wednesday. During the busiest part of the year, these flights run every day.<br><br>To commemorate the airline's return to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International, Bali Airport went all out. Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, personally attended the celebration. He was joined by Handy Heryudhitiawan, general manager of PT Angkasa Pura for Bali Airport, Anthea Griffin, consul general of Australia in Bali, and Garth Evans, outsourced operations manager for Virgin Australia, who all welcomed guests into the terminal.<br><br>According to data released by Bali Airport, 48,000 Australian tourists visited Bali in May, making them the island's most frequent visitors. Prior to the outbreak, more than a quarter of all foreign visitors to Bali were from Australia. Australian visitors to Bali are closely followed by British tourists, 15,000 of whom visited the island in the previous month.<br><br>India-based tourists came in third place, with almost 15 thousand persons visiting Bali to experience the wonders of the Island of the Gods. The tourism industry will continue to benefit from the growing market of Indian visitors to Bali. Although there are clear distinctions between Balinese Hinduism and the Hinduism practiced throughout the subcontinent, India and Bali share many of the same cultural and religious traditions.<br><br>Three airlines, Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Atlantic, now offer direct flights to Bali from Australia. Direct flights are now available from Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Cairns, Perth, and Brisbane several times per week. The Gold Coast of Australia will have direct flights to Bali starting in March 2023. Virgin Atlantic expects that the new route will connect the two highly regarded surf locations with ease. The new service was introduced this week.<br><br>The new Gold Coast-Bali route does not charge extra for passengers to travel with their surfboards, which is a significant perk for thrifty visitors who want to dash to Bali at the drop of a hat to catch a wave. Australian families living near the Gold Coast who don't want to deal with the trouble of traveling to Sydney or Brisbane before their vacation is set to begin will find the route to be perfect as well.
