Indonesia’s touristic sector will be restarted partially in mid-summer, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has announced Friday. The most attractive place, Bali, planned to reopen this summer, Asia One has learned.
The Indonesian officials are preparing for opening a travel corridor program that could see foreign tourists visiting Bali in a couple of months.
President Joko Widodo paid a working visit to the province where he said that Bali might restart tourism some time in June or July, as long as the COVID-19 outbreak is under control.
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and Bali Governor Wayan Koster echoed presidential opinion, stressing that up with a meeting that aims to set up a “strict reopening” to foreign tourists in a few months.
This latest timeline is a lot sooner than what Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said last week, who set Bali’s reopening to April 2022.
Indonesia is ready to welcome tourists this summer
The proposed “travel corridor arrangement,” will be offered to countries that are able to contain the spread of the coronavirus, have high vaccination rates, and could offer reciprocal benefits, the top medical official said in a statement.
The nations that are currently being considered include the Netherlands, China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore.
However, the finalization will depend on each [partner] country’s travel corridor arrangement. Several things must be achieved before the program starts, the minister said, such as low COVID-19 numbers.
Earlier this month, public health experts stressed that Bali must improve its handling of the public health crisis, with one of them noting that the situation is “not under control.”
