Tomi Soetjipto – Sun-bathing topless on Bali's famed Kuta beach, Joanna Lee seems unfazed by the sight of giggling Indonesian tourist policemen buzzing by on a golf cart.

"We're happy that tourism in Bali is back because our job is more fun now," says police officer I Wayan Karna, laughing and joking with a colleague about sun-loving travelers.

The two policemen then briefly exchange small talk with a group of Japanese tourists on the crowded beach where hawkers selling sunglasses, tattoos, and animal-horn cigarette holders mingle with bikini-clad women and bare-chested wannabe surfers.

"But write this," Karna says as he continues his afternoon patrol, "we're doing this job seriously because we're here to protect the tourists."

As for Joanna, a shop assistant from Newcastle in Australia, security seems her least concern on her frequent visits to the island she loves for the beaches and the "fun atmosphere." "It's quite obvious really, the beaches are great... people are just so friendly," said Lee, now clad in a loose shirt with oversized rectangular sunglasses sitting on her nose.

"Once you come here you always want to come back, no matter what."

Travellers flocking back

Indeed, more than two years after Islamic militants bombed packed night clubs in Kuta, – killing 202 people, most of them foreign tourists – travelers are finally flocking back to the island.

Dubbed the "Island of Gods" for its myriad Hindu temples and never-ending religious rituals, Bali escaped the effects of the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami that struck many tourist destinations in Southeast Asia.

While tourism in areas such as Sri Lanka and Phuket in Thailand suffered major blows, Bali has enjoyed a revival. The island lies more than a thousand miles away from Aceh, the area of Indonesia hit hardest by the tsunami.

Overseas arrivals on the temple-studded island have increased more than six percent in the first six months of this year to around 700,000 from the same period last year. That figure broke the island's all-time high set in 2001.

In May leading credit card company Visa International reported a hefty jump in travelers' spending on the island and described Bali as a bright spot in Asia's generally gloomy tourist industry.

"Bali's bright future is already here now and is looking brighter than ever," Bali tourism chief Gede Nurjaya told Reuters. "We did have initial fears of a setback after the tsunami but as it turns out there have been no significant cancellations."

High-end goes upward

Away from the hustle and bustle and neon lights of Kuta, Bali has enjoyed an upscale makeover, with the mushrooming of luxurious villas and high-class spas on secluded beaches and in the misty hills.

Italian jewelry house Bulgari is to open its second resort – and the first outside its home country – next year on the cliff peninsula of Uluwatu.

Last year, the Conrad hotel group opened a resort in Nusa Dua and COMO unveiled its $4,400-a-night boutique residence in the island's picturesque Ayung valley.

Fancy restaurants and posh nightclubs have all emerged, adding glamour to the once sedate scene.

"The whole thing has become a lot more sophisticated over the last few years," says David Wilson, general manager at the five-star Ritz-Carlton.

"We see that Bali is more (demanding of) luxury accommodation, whether it is luxury villas or luxury hotels," he told Reuters.

"2005 is looking very strong... enough that we'll be showing a growth of 30 percent in revenue. Most of it is being driven by the growth of the luxury segment," he said.

A high-profile case in which a young Australian woman, Schapelle Corby, was jailed for smuggling in marijuana, brought talk of a Bali boycott but to little effect.

A more serious hindrance to an even more rapid recovery is the fact that some countries, such as the United States and Australia, still warn against travel to Indonesia because of the threat of terrorist attacks.

Security remains a top priority for authorities in Bali, which draws most of its foreign tourists from Japan and Australia.

In a recent interview, Bali police chief I Made Pastika said police were on alert for possible attacks because some key players in the 2002 bombings were still at large.

But French tourist Alexander Rybosad, taking pictures of locals performing a Hindu ritual on one of the quieter stretches of Kuta beach, said security and fears of bombings were not an issue for him.

"I'm not afraid. I think it's possible that it could happen anywhere, but I hope it doesn't happen in your country again," said the avid surfer, who has been staying in Bali for two months.