By James Wilkinson

Pacific Blue has announced it will increase Australia-Bali flights from June 1 with the launch of direct services from both Melbourne and Sydney.

Pacific Blue now offers Bali flights from five Australian cities

The announcement of direct Melbourne and Sydney flights comes just three months after the successful launch of Bali services from Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

Virgin Blue Group CEO Brett Godfrey said the strong connecting traffic from Melbourne and Sydney was the main reason for the expansion of services to Bali.

“Bali has traditionally been a popular destination for Australians and we have seen strong connecting traffic from Melbourne and Sydney so the next obvious step was to put on direct services,” he said.

“We are pleased to be offering more convenient flying options from other key capital city destinations and providing another airline choice for people to fly to Bali on.Once we launch the new flights, Pacific Blue will offer direct flights from more Australian cities than any other airline.”

Godfrey also said Adelaide will also benefit at the same time, with services set to be ramped up from twice- to thrice-weekly.

The increased flights to Bali will keep Australian arrivals to the island climbing. Recent statistics showed Australian travellers recorded the highest number of visitor numbers for the month of January, edging out Japan and Korea.

In January, Australia recorded 27,873 visitors arriving in Bali, ahead of 25,324 for visitors from Japan, according to the Bali Government Tourism Office.

Godfrey said the current holiday package prices are the lowest they have been for two decades and to further stimulate mini-breaks, the airline was currently offering flights for $299 each way on the internet from both Melbourne and Sydney.

“Indonesia was Pacific Blue’s first foray in to the Asian region and its close proximity to Australia is a big drawcard for people keen to take a mini-break without breaking the bank,” he said.

“Holiday package prices are at the lowest they have been for two decades so it is providing ideal opportunities for some great deals, not just in the air but also on arrival in Bali.”

Denpasar ( Berita ) :  The number of American tourists to Bali has been increasing since the Indonesian government had lifted its travel warning, classiying the number of American tourists coming to the island resort as one of the big-ten.

The  number of tourists from other western countries also increased by an average of 20 percent, Ida Komang Wisnu, Head of the  Bali Central Bureau of Statistics said here Monday.

Komang Wisnu said the number of foreign tourists to Bali reached 1,664,854  last year. And their number increased further this year.

A total of 1,298,130 tourists came to Bali from January to August 2008, which was a 20 percent increase compared to the   1,079,751 people in the same period last year.

Americans from January to August 2008 coming to Bali reached 46,923, up by 30 percent from 36,092 compared to the same period in 2007 whereas the number of French tourists increased  23 percent from 42,281 to 52,080.

The Germans coming to the ‘Island of Gods‘ reached  50,676, a 18 percent increase from 42,802, or a 20 percent increase from 44,406 to 53,567 tourists. ( ant )

This year we add more facility to enjoy at our villa, there are free internet WIfi hotspot available at the yube restaurant and the lobby, if you do bussines or just want to check your email while you here, just take your notebook to the restaurant and buy some food or you can go to the lobby and start browsing.

happy browsing and holidays

Staying at the bidadari luxury villas is less than the cost to staying at a big hotels (five star hotels) in Bali, you can now enjoy the luxury of a beautiful private villas with air-conditioned bedrooms and tropical bathrooms, spacious private living and dining areas, a lush tropical garden with your own private swimming pool, Kitchen and well-trained house staff to take care of everything around the clock.

staying at the bidadari luxury villas with special service, private treatment, beverages are at supermarket prices, no sharing of facilities, all is for your selves, the bidadari luxury villa complete with spa and restaurant if you want more then just a stay.

Book your villa at this june 2008 and see the real Bali a bit closer. because in this month there will be an art festival. this festival known as Bali Art Festival (Pesta Kesenian Bali),  in this month every day starting at june 14 until july 17, there will be an art performances, handicraft exhibitions and other related cultural and commercial activities.

It’s a month full of art and culture parade showcasing the best of all regency in Bali. It is also a cultural event meant not for tourists but more to Balinese people.

Beside performing traditional Balinese dances such as legong, gambuh, kecak, barong, baris, mask dance and traditional marshal art, you will be amazed by the endless rows of towering offerings carried by beautiful colorful dressed women, gamelan orchestra, people dressed in their regional custom made traditional costume.

Now our villa is completed with bicycle, this bicycle can be use if you want to enjoy the view of umalas village.
for your information umalas village is set of rice field with friendly local people.

the people are still doing the farming in their rice-field, even many of them are nowadays changing their way of life into the Tourism sector as a worker or holding their own business.

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Indonesian flag carrier Garuda will reopen a route linking the resort island of Bali with the Japanese city of Nagoya next month, a spokesman for the airline said on Monday.

The route will be served three times a week using a 293-seater Airbus 330-300 starting on June 2, Pujobroto told AFP. The flights would be on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The United States says it has lifted a travel warning placed on Indonesia following a string of terrorist attacks. It cited improved security for the decision.

Hundreds of Islamic militants have been convicted and imprisoned as part of efforts by local authorities to weaken the regional network Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for at least four deadly suicide bombings in Indonesia since 2002.

The last one was carried out on Bali island in late 2005, killing 20 people.

U.S. Ambassador to Jakarta Cameron Hume said Sunday the warning was lifted because of “improvements made by Indonesia in its current security situation.” — AP