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Doubt clouds Bali’s international reopening
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A woman walks along Kuta beach on the resort island of Bali on Aug. 15, 2020. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
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fter more than a year of setbacks and false starts, Bali’s international airport was poised on Wednesday to reopen to the foreign tourists on whom the island’s economy depends, but on the eve of the policy shift, technical details remained unresolved, last-minute regulatory changes loomed and skepticism abounded.
“We’re tired of promises from the government,” said 32-year-old holiday villa manager Bando on Tuesday. “Honestly, we’re tired of hoping. […] We need tourists back.”
The business that Bando manages, based in Bali’s once bustling Seminyak district, has subsisted on a sprinkling of domestic tourists and monthly rentals to the few foreigners that have remained on the island, but bookings are sparse, cancellations are common and total revenue is less than a third of what it used to be.
“I don’t think things will change rapidly [under the new policy] because people still have to follow terms and conditions, like COVID-19 tests, quarantine, etc.,” he said.
The government announced late on Wednesday that Bali would accept direct flights from 19 countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, because of their low COVID-19 caseloads.
Tourists on such flights would be required to quarantine for five days, show evidence of having received at least two vaccine doses and have health insurance that covered COVID-19 treatment abroad, among other requirements.
Read also: Days before Bali reopens, govt undecided on quarantine
