“The Australian tourists accounted for 14.67 percent of the total tourists coming to the Island of Paradise in the first quarter which reached 490.454,” Head of the Bali Office of the Central Statistics Board (BPS) Ida Komang Wisnu said here on Sunday.

The figure placed Australia in the second place after Japan with 83,470 tourists, he said.

China came in third with 56,030 tourists, followed by Malaysia with 29,971 tourists, he said.

He said 71,199 of the Australian tourists came to Bali via Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar and the remaining 771 through the city`s seaport.

Last year, a total of 313,313 Australian tourists visited Bali, jumping 52.68 percent from the year before when the figure was 205,205, he said.

He said Bali which was geographically not too far from Australia was the “second home” for many Australian tourists.

Only recently, Bali received an award as The Best Island in Asia Pacific 2009 from the Hong Kong-based DestinAsia Magazine.

A beautiful resort in Bali

I bet there are still hundreds, or even thousands, of islands in Indonesian archipelago that would be the next best island, only if they were as well-known as Bali. Check out Lombok, Sikuai Island, and some other natural islands! Don’t be surprised if soon in the future the list of 10 Best Islands would be all Indonesian’s.

Credit: Thanks to Anak Indonesia for the tip.