90 buyers are visiting Bali this week as global travel distributor GTA holds its annual sourcing conference for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in Indonesia. As ever, it will give attendees a brief flavour of the destination and inspire them to share the appeals of its accommodation and experiences with colleagues around the world.

This year, the conference is being hosted by the Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana with a special dinner at Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran. Andrew Hughes, GTA’s Vice President for Sourcing APAC, says: “As more and more people want to travel to and around Bali and Indonesia, travel agents rely on GTA’s sourcing teams to find the accommodation, services, excursions and experiences they most want to enjoy. Taking our conference to a different part of the world every year can help a destination raise its profile on a global stage.”

According to, Statistics Indonesia the number of foreign tourists to the country increased by 9.4% to 8.80 million people in 2013, following steady increases year on year for more than the last five years. It means that Indonesian hoteliers are increasingly looking to GTA as a global distribution partner which can help them affordably reach these new customers from abroad. GTA generates tens of thousands of bookings for hotels every day and sells 12 million room nights in more than 25 languages online and throughout the world.

Adds Andrew: “GTA has been helping the world’s hospitality and tourism industry reach customers in all parts of the world for nearly four decades. Our reputation for providing relevant and unrivalled global distribution, our financial stability and expertise helps businesses capture opportunities presented by growth markets, while gaining share in established ones.”

Australia and the UK are the top international markets for Bali, according to GTA’s booking data for the full year 2013, with the UK up 90% year on year. China and South Korea are also strong emerging markets and a bumper Chinese New Year and Spring Festival travel period has seen January business into Bali rise by nearly 80%.

As well as giving greater focus to infrastructure improvements, Indonesia’s government has identified 16 priority destinations to be developed to attract international tourists: Lake Toba, Pangandaran, the Borobudur and Prambanan areas, Yogya-Sleman, the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru area, Lombok and the Rinjani volcano, Flores, Wakatobi, Toraja, the Derawan islands, Pulau Weh in Aceh, the Togean islands, the Thousand Islands and Old Batavia, and Bali’s southern and northern coasts, as well as the area around Mount Batur.