Bali’s Melasti Beach, the southernmost beach in the island province, is braced and ready for the festive season to arrive.
Melasti Beach is one of the most culturally important beaches in Bali and has proven to be a hit with tourists in recent months.
Over the holiday season, Bali generally welcomes over one million international arrivals, in addition to hundreds of thousands of domestic tourists.
The Christmas and New Year holidays, referred to in Indonesia as Nataru, are one of the busiest times of the year on the island, and tourism leaders know to plan ahead to make sure that order is maintained.
Melasti Beach, in Ungasan, is increasingly in popularity with tourists, so much so that local Bech management has already confirmed that there will be increased security on the beach during the peak season.
Local pecalang, or village security officers, will be deployed across the beach, in the parking area, and in the surrounding areas to ensure that traffic keeps flowing, that tourists are safe, and that the whole area is enjoyable for all.
The Head of Melasti Beach Management, Wayan Karnawa, told reporters, “To welcome the high season, we will add Pecalang, especially to regulate traffic flow in the coastal area.”
The roads leading to Melasti Beach are narrow and winding. A new car parking area has been opened on the western side of the beach, and it is hoped that this increased parking capacity will make it easier for tourists and their drivers to get safely in and out of the beach area.
Karnawa added, “Specifically, to regulate traffic, we feel the addition of Pecalang is very important so that there are no traffic jams and visitors can travel comfortably.”
Melasti Beach is particularly popular with domestic tourists, with visitor numbers hosting a 70:30 split between domestic and international visitors.
Karnawa told reporters, “We estimate that the number of tourist visits this year will continue to increase by around 10-20 percent compared to the previous year. Every day, we target visits of around 3,000 people, and if this is achieved consistently, then the total number of visits could reach around 1.1 million visitors throughout the year.”
The vast white sand beach, the stunning clear blue waters, and the increasingly good facilities at Melasti Beach are all reasons why tourists choose to visit the stretch of coast.
The fact that Melasti Beach gives access to the Southernmost Point of Bali is also a novel attraction for tourists.
Ungasan is proving to be super popular with tourists in 2024. As Pecatu, best known for resorts like Uluwatu, become busier, neighboring communities like Ungasan and Kutuh are coming into their own.
Ungasan is also home to the super popular Green Bowl Beach, best-loved by experienced surfers looking to hop into the Bukit Pensinula’s most challenging waves.
For those looking for more novice-friendly waves in the Uluwatu and Ungasan areas, Padang-Padang Beach is a good place to start.
Tourists looking to visit Bali over the festive season and who have yet to book accommodation and flights should certainly make a move.
Over the holiday season, many of Bali’s most popular and best-value hotels, resorts, and villas get fully booked, flights are sold out, and activities are often fully booked, too.
As tourists prepare to visit Bali this festive season, it is also advisable to arrange the eVisa on arrival two weeks before they travel.
The eVisa on Arrival enables tourists not only to skip the visa queues at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, but also to use the new autogates, which complete immigration checks within a matter of seconds.
A new eVisa on Arrival platform will be launched in early December 2024 as part of a new partnership between Indonesia Immigration and VFS Global.
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