Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said on Tuesday that under the proposed VTL, the government would cut down the quarantine period from five days to three days for fully vaccinated Australian travelers.

However, travelers are required to show evidence of having received at least two vaccine doses,  health insurance that covers COVID-19 treatment abroad and a negative PCR test result.

He added that there were no specific requirements for inbound Australian travelers at the moment, but the government would continue monitoring the pandemic situation in Australia.

“We’re in a discussion to reopen direct flights from Australia,” he said during an online press briefing on Monday.

The minister’s explanation comes two days after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced the proposal of the VTL to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a meeting on Oct. 30 in Rome at the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit, according to a press release.

Jokowi noted that the proposal included a mutual acceptance of both countries’ vaccination certificates.

“Hopefully, the VTL and recognition of both countries’ vaccination certificates would be resolved soon. I am sure this will expedite our economic recovery — safely of course,” he said.

Australia eased its international travel restrictions on Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, and a few weeks after the Indonesian government reallowed international flights to Bali – the number one tourism destination in the country – on Oct. 13, also for the first time during the pandemic.

Read also: Doubt clouds Bali’s international reopening

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows that foreign tourist arrivals remained low at 1.19 million in the January-September period this year, down 67 percent from the same period last year.

BPS data also shows that Australia was the fourth-largest source of foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, before the pandemic, with 1.39 million arrivals, behind Malaysia, China and Singapore.

In Bali, Australia was the largest source of foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, followed by China, then India, BPS data also shows.

Australia, which had one of the world’s most restrictive coronavirus border policies, now allows fully vaccinated citizens to travel internationally.

However, regional administrations still regulate certain inbound health-related requirements, including costly mandatory quarantines, which might deter outbound travel.

Sandiaga went on to say that the government was considering adding Australia to a list of countries allowed to open direct flights to Bali and that a meeting to decide on the subject would be arranged “in the near future".

The list currently consists of 19 countries with low COVID-19 positivity rates and cases, including major tourist sources such as China and India, but excludes others such as Australia and the United States.

However, Bali residents do not expect the reopening to have an immediate effect on foreign tourist arrivals because of regulatory uncertainties, unresolved technical details and an absence of scheduled international flights.

Indonesia did not mention travel lane proposals for Indonesians to enter Australia, which has opened its borders to fully vaccinated New Zealanders, and plans to extend the policy to fully vaccinated Singaporeans by the end of this month.

“This means that within weeks, Australia will be welcoming tourists from two of our top 10 travel destinations,” Morrison said in a statement. “This is the billion-dollar boost that Australia’s tourism [...] has been waiting for.”

Indonesian Travel Agents Association (Astindo) chairwoman Pauline Suharno suggested that the government make adequate preparations before implementing the VTL to secure Australian tourist arrivals.

“The VTL has good prospects, considering Australia is the largest market for Bali and Lombok [West Nusa Tenggara] travel and tourism,” she told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Hariyadi Sukamdani, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), suggested that the government replicate Thailand’s “Phuket Sandbox” scheme to attract tourists, saying that self-quarantine in a room was “less preferable” for foreign tourists.

“Nevertheless, the VTL would have a positive impact [on tourism]; now we just have to wait and see how Australia will respond,” he told the Post on Monday.

Thailand reopened to international travelers in July through the Phuket Sandbox program, under which fully-vaccinated tourists could skip Thailand’s mandatory two-week quarantine, provided they remain in Phuket, where tourism accounts for 90 percent of the local economy.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct Pauline Suharno’s position in Astindo.