Visitors to Bali back in waves

BALI has returned to its barrelling best.That's the verdict from visiting surfers and a leading travel agent after a bumper winter surf season since June.

The 2002 and 2005 terrorist bombings in Bali had a terrible effect on surf tourism, but thousands of Australians have returned to the iconic surf destination in the past two years.

According to David Hutchinson, product manager of Sydney-based Surf Travel Company (STC), the Indonesian hotspot has turned the corner towards a brighter future.

"Right now it's booming," Hutchinson said.

"It's running on par to (levels) before the first bombings (2002).

"It was slow for a couple of years after the bombings, but over the last two or three years it's grown by about 30 per cent each year."

Hutchinson said STC booked Indonesian holidays for about 2000 surfers in the past year. About 50 per cent of clients stay in Bali.

Most of the remainder boarded charter boats to explore the popular Mentawai Islands, off Sumatra, or travelled to Bali's eastern neighbouring islands.

This year marked a couple of milestones for Indonesian surfing. Foremost was Bali hosting its first World Championship Tour contest, the Rip Curl Pro Search, at the premier reef breaks Padang Padang and Uluwatu.

The long, spiralling tubes of Uluwatu became a dream surfing destination for Aussies in the early 1970s. "Ulu" quickly became a mythical destination thanks to surf films and photos of the surrounding majestic cliffs, a sea-level cave and a nearby temple overlooking the scene.

Dozens of world-class breaks have since been uncovered around Bali and the rest of Indonesia.

Recent images of eight-time world champion Kelly Slater riding switchfoot in a juicy tube at Padang must surely rate among the highlights of the 2008 world tour so far.

And Indonesia's domestic contest scene has had a big impact on Australian surfers, who supported the series by the busload.

Coolangatta goofyfooter Nic Vasicek wrapped up the series by reaching the quarter-finals of the final event at Canggu last weekend.

Vasicek was among the scores of young Queensland surfers who swamped Bali for the series, and some serious "tube time" at the classic reef breaks around the island.

Recreational riders and surfing families are also happily back on Bali's warm, friendly beaches, although most are avoiding the central Kuta area.

"In our niche market we are seeing a swing to boutique-style resorts instead of the big resorts," Hutchinson said.

"A lot of people are hesitant about staying directly in Kuta, so they're moving up towards Bukit or down into the Canggu region.

"You'll never be able to beat Bali because everyone's dollar is so strong over there. It's got everything from one star to five star (accommodation).

"It's a cultural centre and meeting place for every country on earth.

"Both rich and poor can go to the same clubs and eat in the same restaurants. There aren't too many places in the world where that sort of thing happens."

He said the use of CCTV in some areas of Bali had helped some tourists feel safer, and the effort to help Balinese people get back on their feet had also been tremendous.

"They have suffered horrendously from the bombings," Hutchinson said.

"From our point of view, surfers are quite resilient, they're willing to go to these places hoping that there will be some uncrowded waves.

"And the travelling surfer has brought back the generic traveller.

"Balinese are beautiful people.

"They are very honest and caring and they haven't got a lot of money and they rely on their surfing friends to come back every year."