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RI in travel corridor talks with 7 countries
“We hope that once the COVID-19 situation has become more conducive, the travel corridor arrangements can be implemented in a short period of time,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno told reporters on Monday.
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ourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has said the country is setting up travel corridor arrangements (TCAs) with seven countries in preparation for the reopening of Indonesia’s borders to international holidaymakers.
The minister told reporters on Monday that he had met with the ambassadors of Belgium, France, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Vietnam in a closed-door meeting on May 18 to discuss the TCAs.
“We hope that once the COVID-19 situation has become more conducive, the TCAs can be implemented within a short period of time,” he said.
In a post on his private Instagram account, the minister wrote that the TCAs would “ensure that incoming tourists are in good health, have met [travel] requirements and are ready to comply with all health protocols”.
Some foreigners living in Bali, Indonesia’s top holidaymaking destination, regularly break COVID-19 health protocols by not wearing masks or not physically distancing themselves in eateries and entertainment venues.
Read also: Expatriates join Indonesians in calling out foreign anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers in Bali
The Foreign Ministry established travel corridors with China, Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year, but these arrangements serve business and diplomatic travel instead of tourism.
The Foreign Ministry’s travel corridors generally allow businesspeople and diplomats into Indonesia without requiring quarantine, provided they have local sponsors.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the ministry had not attended or received information about the tourism-oriented TCA meetings.
"We do not always attend such meetings unless they are facilitated by the Foreign Ministry," he said. “The people at the Tourism Ministry should be more in-the-know [about the tourism TCA].”
Read also: Doubts loom over Indonesia's 'travel bubble' plan
The government had planned to create a tourism travel corridor between New Delhi and Bali. However, Indonesia has barred visitors from India following the discovery of imported COVID-19 cases from the country, where a recent surge of cases has overwhelmed the health system.
