Bali……. A holiday destination fit for a King!!!
The King of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, arrived in Jakarta on the 1sth. of March. The king and his massive entourage of 1,500 people will be landing in Bali for a five day holiday on March 4th-9th 2017.
Interestingly, the last visit of the Saudi Royal Family to Indonesia took place way back in 1970.
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud doesn’t do things by halves when he travels; the 1,500 contingent travelling alongside the King will arrive on two Boeing777’s, four Boeing747’s and two C-130 Hercules transporters to carry the luggage. Some of which includes a special aircraft stairway that operates as an escalator for the Boeing 777 made from gold and two Mercedes-Benz s600 limousines.
Pt Angkasa Pura, the National Airport Authority will certainly have their hands full during the Kings visit, a VIP parking area at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport has been prepared for his Boeing 777 private aircraft. The airport is expected to be closed for around 45 minutes upon the VVIP’s arrival and departure. Some aircraft from the contingency may have to be sent to Jakarta or Surabaya as parking space is limited at the Bali Airport.
The Indonesian Tourism Minister has welcomed the visit stating it’s more than likely that the Kings visit will help boost tourism to Bali and Indonesia as a whole. The minister, Arief Yahya is hoping that the Kings visit will help to increase tourist numbers from the Middle East to the Indonesian Archipelago from 48,824 visitors in 2016, of which 10,243 were from Saudi Arabia. The Indonesian Tourism Board says the average amount spent by an individual from the Middle East holidaying here was approximately $2,000 Usd per person.
Hengky Widjaja, a spokesperson for the Bali National Police, said security for the visit is being coordinated with all the relevant agencies in Bali including the TNI, armed forces. Due to the visit by the King, tourists may encounter some delays due to the heavy police and security presence during his stay.