Destinations known | ‘10 new Balis’ is now 5 – here’s where they are and why you should visit
- Labuan Bajo, Lake Toba, Yogyakarta, Mandalika and Likupang make up the reduced list of new Bali alternatives Indonesia has announced
- Here’s what each of them have to offer tourists, from Labuan Bajo’s beaches and Komodo Island to Mandalika’s motor races
Where once there was talk of “10 new Balis” there are now suggestions of “five super priority tourism destinations”, which doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but is probably more realistic.
Indonesia basically has an “all eggs in one basket” problem: tiny little Bali (0.29 per cent of the country, by area) draws some 40 per cent of Indonesia’s 16 million-plus annual international visitors.
Attempting to spread the load and build tourism into a more sturdy pillar of the national economy, President Joko Widodo has, since coming to office in 2014, sought to promote a range of other destinations. In 2015, he identified 10 that were considered to have the potential to become as big as Bali.
Needless to say, none have.
Perhaps realising that “10 new Balis” was sounding a little stale, Widodo whittled down his list and made the new five not just a priority, but a super priority. The updated list appears to have been released in 2021 but was little discussed until Widodo tweeted a reminder in March.
“We will also use [the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in May, which Indonesia is hosting] as a promotional event for Labuan Bajo, as one of the super priority destinations for Indonesian tourism,” the president tweeted on March 14.