Bali Is Still Empty Of Foreign Tourists, Even Though International Flights Have Been Opened, The Quarantine Period Is Considered To Be The Cause

JAKARTA - The government has opened access to international flights at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport since yesterday the day after tomorrow. The opening of this airport is a breath of fresh air for foreign tourists who want to go to Bali and local tourism actors.

However, until now Bali is still empty of foreign tourist visits. Then, what is the reason Bali is still empty of foreign tourist visits?

Tourism observer from Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed), Chusmeru, said that one of the reasons why Bali was quiet from foreign tourist visits was related to the quarantine policy imposed by the government.

"One of the reasons why no foreign tourists have landed in Bali is the quarantine policy for foreign tourists entering Indonesia," he said when contacted by VOI, Friday, October 15.

Chusmeru said that at the beginning the quarantine policy had been changed from 8 days to 5 days. However, this policy still makes it difficult for foreign tourists to come to Bali. The reason is, of the 19 countries that are allowed to enter Indonesia, most of them are in Asia.

Travelers from 19 countries may enter Indonesia via Bali and Riau Islands, namely Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), New Zealand, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Portugal. , Spain, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, and Norway.

"Meanwhile, the length of stay of tourists from Asian countries in Bali is around 5 days. So if they visit Bali only their time for quarantine runs out," he said.

Furthermore, Chusmeru said that while for European countries that were allowed to enter Indonesia, it had not led to countries that had long stay in Bali.

Therefore, according to Chusmeru, ideally, quarantine for tourists is a maximum of 3 days, so that there is still time for tourists to visit tourist attractions in Bali.

"The 5-day quarantine for tourists also results in high costs for traveling, because the budget for vacations is spent more on quarantine at hotels," he said.

Even so, Chusmeru said there is hope that the turning point for tourism recovery in Bali will occur during the Christmas and New Year holidays in 2023. However, with the record that the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is already low. Likewise, the cases of potential tourist origins to Bali have decreased.

"Thus, the number of countries allowed to enter Indonesia can increase, and more importantly, the quarantine policy for foreign tourists can be reviewed. So that tourists do not stay quarantined in hotels for too long," he said.

As is known, the government has begun to open the tourism sector in Bali and the Riau Islands (Kepri) to foreign tourists, which had previously been closed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Tourism in Bali is open to foreign tourists on Thursday, October 14.

Meanwhile, the opening of Bali and Riau Islands to foreign tourists is an effort by the government to boost the economy in the two provinces. As is known, the two provinces rely on their income from the tourism sector.

Stakeholder Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) International Airport Branch Office I Gusti Ngurah Rai Taufan Yudhistira said that although flight access has been opened, to this day no foreign aircraft have landed in Bali.

"Until now, there are still no international flights," he told VOI, Friday, October 15.