Hotel prices on the resort Island of Bali have soared 57 percent thanks in part to the Hollywood hit “Eat Pray Love.”

Little Bit of ‘Love’ Goes Long Way in Bali
September 14, 2010
US actress Julia Roberts (middle) seen on set of the movie "Eat Pray Love" at Ubud Traditional Market, Ubud, Bali, in this file photo. Hotel prices on the resort island have gone up rapidly, partly as a result of the movie US actress Julia Roberts (middle) seen on set of the movie "Eat Pray Love" at Ubud Traditional Market, Ubud, Bali, in this file photo. Hotel prices on the resort island have gone up rapidly, partly as a result of the movie's popularity. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo)


Jakarta. Hotel prices on the resort Island of Bali have soared 57 percent thanks in part to the Hollywood hit “Eat Pray Love.”

According to Hotels.com’s biannual price index, released on Tuesday, hotel prices increased from an average $129 per night to $203, making Bali the eighth-most expensive destination for travelers from the United States.

The survey showed that some of the greatest price rises happened in cities associated with major events.

Other than Bali, where the film “Eat Pray Love,” was partially filmed, 2010 FIFA World Cup host Cape Town saw price hikes averaging 53 percent. Cannes, France, which hosts the annual Cannes Film Festival, also experienced a big rise in room rates.

The Italian island of Capri, Geneva and New York topped the list for the most expensive hotel rooms, according to the global survey, which showed hotel rates rising for the first time in three years as the global economy picks up.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Bali over the first six months of the year reached 1,180,118, a 10.2 percent increase from the same period last year.

Australians topped the list, with 343,091 of them flocking to Bali in the first half of 2010, a 50.9 percent rise over the same period last year.

Bali hotels and resorts have been quick to take advantage of the publicity from the movie.

In an article titled “Where can you ‘Eat Pray Love?’ — Everywhere!” published in USA Today last month, Kitty Bean Yancey wrote that “it seems as if every resort, and its brother or sister, is jumping on the Eat Pray Love bandwagon.”

However, Bagus Subhiksu, head of the provincial Tourism Office, conceded that his department had not capitalized on the movie to promote Bali, giving the credit to the filmmakers.

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