Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and the Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, has clarified that Bali is yet to be declared open for foreign tourists. At an online press conference on Monday, 20 September 2021, Sandiaga underlined that only two Indonesian international gateways are open to foreign tourists: Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta and Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi.
Quoted by Kompas.com, the Tourism Minister said: “At this moment, Bali is not yet open. International air flights to Bali are also still closed. International flights are limited to Manado and Jakarta.”
Business travel is facilitated, but the international meeting market remains closed.
Indonesia is moving with full force in optimizing COVID-19 vaccination programs in Bali. As reported by Kompas.com, the injection of the first dosage of coronavirus vaccine has reached 95.5% of the Island’s population, with 66.3% fully vaccinated with two injections.
The government-sponsored online application PeduliLindungi to verify the health and vaccination status of the public is now actively used in Bali at 503 hotels, 648 restaurants, 23 tourism destinations, and 14 shopping malls.
Continuing, Minister Sandiaga said: “We hope that the Provincial Government of Bali will continue to coordinate and create Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for a trial program to welcome tourist visitors. We also hope that hospitals will be ready to handle COVID-19 and have 35 hotels ready to swerve as self-quarantine facilities.”
The Minister said that he hoped movie theaters operating in PPKM Category 2 and 3 areas would faithfully implement health protocols in a disciplined manner.
Rigorous implementation of health protocols and vaccinations will combine to prevent a third wave of new COVID-19 infections.
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