Bali - Lebaran, the big exodus will start soon

The Bali authorities are now preparing to serve Indonesian travelers who will leave Bali for their hometowns, as well as incoming tourists who will spend their Idul Fitri holiday, or Lebaran, on the island.

The provincial administration’s for economic affairs said that his office was holding discussions with the relevant institutions to carry out all the required preparations, including the transportation agency, Organization of Land Transportation Businesses airport authority and ferry services.

It is traditional in Indonesia for Muslims to travel to their hometowns to spend Idul Fitri with their families. With many Indonesians working away from home, this is often the only time in the year they can gather with their loved ones. This year, Idul Fitri will fall on Aug. 8 and 9. Thus, at the same time that a high number of homeward-bound travelers leave Bali, the island will also welcome a high number of tourists for the August peak season.

The incoming tourists are not only foreigners, but also domestic tourists from big cities across the country who do not celebrate Idul Fitri but take the public holiday as an opportunity to gather with their families.

The authorities have already started arranging the traffic flow. As in previous years, in the days before Idul Fitri, only vehicles carrying passengers and staple foods are allowed to enter Bali, in order to ease traffic congestion along the Gilimanuk to Denpasar route.Although there are many travelers using private vehicles to travel to their hometowns, the number of travelers using public buses still increases because Bali has a rising number of migrants every year. In addition, more people prefer to use land transportation nowadays because they could not afford the airfare. There are 180 inter-province buses and 68 buses prepared to serve routes within the island. He said each bus operator had prepared additional buses to anticipate the rising number of passengers.

PT Garuda Indonesia’s operate bigger planes and add to the flight frequency. Bali is one of the most crowded routes. This year, the company operating 24 planes of various types, including the Boeing 737-800, Airbus 330 and Boeing 777. During the days before and after Lebaran, the company has one million seats available on the routes from Jakarta, Padang, Denpasar, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan.

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