BALI UPDATE Market Observations

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 | 5:08 pm

I'm sitting on the direct AirAsia flight after a week in Bali studying the market.

Arriving at the airport the landscape is now dominated by tower cranes with construction of the new international terminal underway along with an oversized expansion of facilities.

The clock is ticking - tick, tock, tick, tock - with D Day being November 2013 as Bali prepares to host the world at the APEC Conference.

Two other infrastructure projects - a toll road linking the airport, with Nusa Dua/Benoa and going over the mangroves past Sanur is underway.

Preparation for an underpass at the Galleria intersection is in swing, though works have been delayed.

Bali remains on a mission of preparing for APEC.

The Bali Golf course at Nusa Dua will be closing for a year and a half upgrade, as the oceanfront 18th hole will make way for a new Shangri-La resort.

Past Club Med, a JW Marriott is intent on playing catch up to open by the big day. Work on the mega project The Mulia continues unabated.

New flags for Sheraton, The Stones in Kuta, Le Meridien and a second InterContinental (this one in Canggu) are coming. The later project is being headed by Thailand's Bill Bensley, and rumor has it the designs are sensational).

Sanur's Hyatt Regency will close within the year for a major renovation and expansion program, while nearby a new Regent property gets set to open.

Moevenpick recently announced a project in Jimbaran and more international branding's will hit headlines soon.

As street traffic remains grid locked and both local and expat residents talk the talk of overbuilding and a changing island (does this sound familiar to those in Phuket). Development continues unabated.

While APEC has lit the jet speed afterburners, what will happen after the big event appears to have been placed in the back seat for now,

For Phuket, the next decade will see Bali continue become an increasing force to be reckoned with, with it's large convention center, bright shiny new airport and impressive hotels - so competition will be intense.

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