JAKARTA: Indonesia's Bali island must boost its offerings of “distinguished and unique attractions” in order to compete with emerging tourist destinations in Asia, said the Association of the Indonesian Tourism Industry (GIPI). Chairman Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya said that Bali needs to improve the quality of its tourism facilities while preserving its cultural heritage at the same time. “All the emerging destinations are now working hard to discover their cultural assets to compete with Bali,” he said. Bagus Sudibya, deputy chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA), said that Bali does not have to draw millions of tourists. “It is important to attract quality tourists rather than focusing on the number of tourist arrivals. Quality is much more important than quantity,” said Sudibya, former chairman of the Bali Tourism Board. Bali had some 2.75 million international visitors last year.
