Bali to welcome back foreign tourists

[reader]

From South China Morning Post

Indonesia’s Bali to welcome back foreign tourists on September 11

Bali, Indonesia’s most popular holiday destination, will welcome back domestic visitors from the end of this month as pressure mounts on authorities to rescue the battered tourism industry.

Local tourists can visit the beaches, temples and the popular surfing spots across the island from July 31, while foreign visitors will be allowed from September 11, the Bali government said in a statement.

The reopening of the tourism industry is part of a plan to restart the economy in a phased manner, it said.

Bali, popular with backpackers from Australia to China, had some success in containing the virus outbreak in its early phase, but saw infections soar in June with the return of more migrant workers and a ramp-up in testing.

The island’s tourism-dependent economy was ravaged by the nearly four-month shutdown of hundreds of resorts and hotels.

With foreign and domestic tourists absent from the island, hotel occupancy in Bali slumped to 2.1 per cent in May from 52 per cent a year ago, according to official data.

“We must continue to make the best efforts to handle Covid-19, while at the same time we must begin to carry out activities for the sake of community life,” Bali’s Governor Wayan Koster said in the statement.

Indonesia still remains under the grip of the pandemic with new cases mounting by more than a 1,000 every day in the past two weeks.

It has reported some 65,000 infections since early March, and has a death toll to 3,241, official data showed Monday.

The world’s fourth-most populous country has the most number of infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia, forcing authorities to impose mobility restrictions and mandatory virus testing before flights, discouraging fliers.

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Bali bans foreign tourists for rest of 2020 over virus

Foreign tourists won't be allowed to visit Bali for the rest of 2020 due to coronavirus concerns, its governor said, scrapping a plan to open up the Indonesian island from next month.

The holiday hotspot re-opened beaches, temples and other tourism spots for domestic visitors at the end of July and had said it would let foreign tourists return on Sept 11.

But the plan has now been cancelled over concerns about Indonesia's mounting virus cases and with many foreign nationals subject to travel bans in their home countries.

Jakarta is also yet to lift its ban on foreign tourists entering Indonesia.

"The situation in Indonesia is not conducive to allow international tourists to visit Indonesia, including...Bali," the island's governor I Wayan Koster said in an official letter dated Saturday.

[tony1van]

Any info on if Bali is back open? I would love to take a trip there but not if the gay bars are all closed.

[floridarob]

11 hours ago, tony1van said:

Any info on if Bali is back open? I would love to take a trip there but not if the gay bars are all closed.

Don't think so...they're working on it