Flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia initiated the opening by resuming its weekly flights from Narita International Airport in Japan to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on Feb. 3.

I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport spokesperson Taufan Yudhistira said the Garuda flight was the first international regular flight to land on the island after nearly two years since Indonesia's border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“There are some other regular flights that have plans to land in Bali, including Garuda from Haneda Airport in Japan,” he said.

He went on to say that Garuda would fly from Japan to Bali every Thursday.

Read also: Bali welcomes first international tourist flight amid cautious reopening

The government has allowed Bali to receive international direct flights from 19 countries since October last year but demand has been lackluster, with Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno saying that not a single such flight had been scheduled to the island province until January this year.

The absence of international flights was a major roadblock in Bali's tourism recovery plans as foreign tourists generally spend more than domestic tourists and contribute more toward hotel occupancy rates.

International travelers who wanted to go to Bali had to take the costly option of flying and quarantining in either Jakarta or Manado before taking a domestic flight to Bali.

Latest Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data show that Bali’s gross regional product contracted 2.91 percent annually in the third quarter of last year as foreign tourist arrivals plummeted from 36 individuals to zero over the same period.

Read also: Domestic travelers ‘not enough’ to revive Bali tourism

As such, the government announced that it would shorten the mandatory quarantine period to five days from seven starting Feb. 4 for travelers with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The government also reopened Bali to international travelers from all countries.

Singapore Airlines has announced that it would start regular direct flights to Bali starting Feb. 16. Meanwhile, Sandiaga said that Emirates and Qatar Airways were among the next batch of airlines that would fly passengers to Bali. 

Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar has scheduled to commence flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Bali from March 1, while Qantas Airways also plans to open the same route beginning March 28.

“We are currently reviewing the entry and quarantine requirements for travelers into Bali and will provide an update if there are any changes to our flights,” a Jetstar spokesperson wrote to The Jakarta Post.

Australia, Japan and Singapore were among the top five tourism contributing countries to Indonesia in 2019, according to BPS.

“With the return of international flights to Bali, economic growth from the tourism sector is right before our eyes,” said tourism ministry marketing deputy Nia Niscaya. 

She went on to say the government was introducing a new quarantine initiative called ‘war-up vacation’ wherein travelers may roam around their hotels, instead of being confined to their rooms. Travelers could enjoy hotel facilities such as swimming pools, gym areas and beaches during their quarantine period. 

Currently, only five hotels in Bali were offering warm-up vacations namely Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua and Westin Resort in Nusa Dua, Griya Santrian in Sanur, Viceroy in Ubud and Royal Tulip in Jimbaran, with a total capacity of 520 rooms.

Nia explained that to avoid COVID-19 spreading, the five hotels would have separate quarters for quarantine guests and regular guests. Hotel management must also provide rooms for their personnel catering to quarantine guests. 

Previously, the government had allowed yacht or ship-based quarantine for travelers entering Bali to curb cabin fever, which hindered tourists from making vacation plans.

Read also: Indonesia eases quarantine rules to spur tourism

University of Andalas Tourism Development Centre director Sari Lenggogeni said reducing the number of quarantine days would help boost foreign tourism interest. Financial strain, she said, was a bigger barrier for travel compared with COVID-19 fear.

“People also go out and shop during a vacation so if they have already spent tens of millions of rupiah for hotel quarantine it would discourage them,” she said on Feb. 3

Meanwhile, Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI Bali) deputy chairman IGN Rai Suryawijaya said hotel occupancy in Bali stood at 20 percent, which mostly came from domestic travelers. Meanwhile, 30 percent of hotels on the island had to shut down due to the prolonged pandemic.

"I am optimistic that with the first regular flight, many other international travelers will follow and come to Bali. We hope the hotel occupancy rate can rise again and someday we can go back to normal,” he said. 

I Wayan Puspanegara, a villa owner in Legian, said that while Bali's total reopening was in its early stages, he was optimistic that it could spur local tourism back to normal.

“This is a good opportunity for us. It is time to restart Bali tourism," he said.