To facilitate reviving the economy after suffering a blow amid Covid-19, Indonesia is considering reopening Bali to foreign tourists.
Bali has indeed reopened its gates for domestic tourism and in regards to international tourism, Indonesian President Mr. Joko Widodo has stated in a video release that there’s a possibility of Bali tourism reopening for international visitors around June-July 2021 provided the conditions and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to show favorable progress.
According to Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno, foreign tourists may be able to visit Bali again as soon as June under a travel corridor program to help revive the economy.The travel corridor arrangement will be offered to countries that are deemed successful in their vaccination program, able to contain the spread of the coronavirus and could offer reciprocal benefits, Uno said.
Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua are three designated green areas and major holiday spots in Bali included in a pilot project to start receiving foreign travelers in mid-June or July, under strict health protocols, said Uno. As many as 2 million Bali residents will have to be vaccinated before the pilot project can start.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy has started to ease restrictions to encourage household spending after gross domestic product shrank last year for the first time in two decades caused by the pandemic that has so far infected more than 1.4 million Indonesians in the past year and killed almost 39,000 people in the country.
The government may allow a chartered flight to bring in overseas travellers under the pilot project, which will be closely monitored and evaluated every two weeks, said Uno.
As of 5 May 2021, the official tally has reported a total of 45,282 cases in Bali, where the population is more than 4.2 million. With 42,650 cases of recovery, Bali’s recovery rate is at 94 percent.
Visas on arrival to Bali were halted on 20 March 2020 while The Ngurah Rai airport remains open. There is still a travel restriction in place for Indonesia where passengers are not allowed to transit or enter the country, with a few exceptions.
Bali relies heavily on tourism and had welcomed 6.3 million foreign tourists in the year 2019.
