Indonesia plans to open the resort islands of Bali, Bintan and Batam to welcome international visitors, especially China, Singapore, India ...
Indonesia wishes to welcome international visitors back to the resort islands this summer, and a plan to speed up Covid-19 vaccination in these areas in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
The Indonesian government has conducted numerous dialogues with Singapore, China, South Korea, India, the Netherlands and the UAE towards creating tourism bubbles. According to Tourism and Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, the tourism bubbles could allow visitors to safe destinations in Indonesia, where widespread vaccination has been done and the number of Covid-19 infections under control.
Ukraine and Poland have also made proposals to Indonesia, ensuring that the number of tourists can visit the country on charter flights, Uno said. This could cause the government to loosen the ban on international visitors entering or transiting in Indonesia in March 2020.
Beauty island Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock
Indonesia as well as Thailand and Hong Kong are considering welcoming a limited number of international visitors to support the severely damaged tourism industry. The delayed vaccination campaign, however, could ruin this plan.
According to Uno, the vaccine will give priority to the elderly, and staff at the front line in the fight against Covid-19 in areas like Jakarta. However, according to the new directive of President Joko Widodo, Bali is also allocated vaccines.
"We already have 60,000 - 70,000 people vaccinated in Bali. Once enough vaccines are available, the Minister of Health said that the vaccination will be completed in 2-3 months, meaning the country could be ready to open the border again. again in the second half of July, "said Mr. Uno. At least 2 million Indonesians must be vaccinated for the opening to begin.
Bali island hottest check-in place
Batam and Bintan islands, part of the Riau archipelago (southern Singapore) hope to receive tourists from the lion island nation on April 21, but the plan is postponed due to discussions regarding the security process. full health continues. The tourist corridor will be on the agenda of an upcoming meeting between President Widodo and Singapore Prime Minister Ly Hien Long.
Other tourist destinations to be considered in the tourism corridor development program are Yogyakarta, Belitung Island, Lake Toba in Sumatra, Borobudur temple in Java, the fishing village of Labuan Bajo in eastern Indonesia and Likungpang in Sulawesi - the main destination. Chinese visitors. The decision to open and pick up visitors at all points must be based on data and the disease control situation.
Indonesia: Bali Island is expected to welcome visitors back from July
Indonesia aims to vaccinate 3 million people in Bali, and about 70,000 people in Batam and Bintan before officially opening to international visitors. Currently, Indonesia has vaccinated more than 10.6 million people - the most in Southeast Asia. This reduces the number of new infections in half, from 11,000 cases / day at the beginning of the year to about 5,000 cases / day in April.
