REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- Chinese tourists visiting Bali shot up in number with arrivals rising 59.6 percent to 616,233 in the first five months of this year from the same period last year.

"The number was 230,137 larger in the January-May period than 386,096 in the first five months of 2016, head of the Bali Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Adi Nugroho said here on Saturday.

Most of the visitors came by air via the International Airport of Ngurah Rai and a few came by sea on board tourist boats with 134 arrivals, Adi said.

China accounted for 26.71 percent or the largest among ten main countries of origin in number of foreign tourists visiting Bali in the first five months of the years. There were 2.3 million visits by foreign tourist to Bali in that period or an increase of 23.66 percent from 1.85 visits in the same period last year.

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Adi Nugroho said Australia, which had long been the largest country of origin for foreign tourist visiting Bali is now ranked second.

Japan , which was once the largest country of origin, is now ranked the 4th , after China, Australia and India. and India.

Adi attributed the surge in the number of Chinese visitors to regular flights opened by Indonesian airlines mainly the nation's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia between Denpasar and a number of Chinese cities. 

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