What’s luring people to the Gili Islands instead of Bali?
What’s luring people to the Gili Islands instead of Bali?
Luxury villa projects springing up in Gili Meno
Growing urbanisation in Bali may have driven more and more beach frolickers from Bali toward the more laidback idylls of the nearby Gili Islands.
The trio of islands named Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air hosted nearly 450,000 guests last year, according to a report released this week by hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks. In addition, occupancy rates at regulated accommodations in the islands grew by 34 percent between 2011 and 2015, while the number of guests in those lodgings soared 14 percent.
And Gili tourists are not just billeted in shacks — C9 found that average occupancy levels in upscale accommodations around the islands stand at 76 percent this year to date. Hoteliers are banking on this remarkable shift, with nine confirmed hotel projects, representing 278 keys, now in the pipeline for the islands.
Residential property developers are following suit, announcing projects in an investment destination where home buyers can pay 10 to 20 times less than they would in Bali for sea-view plots. Luxury villa projects are springing up especially in Gili Meno, where construction of the BASK Gili Meno villas, designed by architect Gary Fell, is underway.
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Overall, the average length of stay by tourists in Bali has shortened even as that in the Gilis and nearby Lombok has increased, C9 stated in its report.
Multiple factors play into the growing exodus from the Island of the Gods. “Destination fatigue, urbanization and a change in travelers tastes towards more natural locations is spurring the move,” Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, said.
The Gilis have gained a repute as a hippie hangout in years. Accusations are rife that drug use is increasing in the islands, in a country where trafficking illicit substances is met by capital punishment.
Fuelling the influx to the islands are Australians and European tourists, who accounted for 73 percent of international hotel guests in 2015, C9 reported. Indonesians are not far behind, with domestic hotel guests rising from 24,826 to 60,124 between 2011 and 2015.
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Source: Property Report