Bali Covid Cases Decline, Local Administration Prepares Strategies for Tourism

BALI, KOMPAS.com – The Bali provincial administration has made several schemes in its preparation to welcome foreign tourists once Indonesia reopens its borders for tourism.

Bali’s economy relies heavily on the tourism industry and the resort island has been hit hard by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are currently making some arrangements because we will need one month's preparation before Indonesia reopen its borders for foreign tourism,” Bali deputy governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, who is popularly known as Cok Ace, said on Friday, September 17.

Cok Ace gave an example if foreign tourists will be allowed to enter Indonesia in November, then the announcement should be made at the end of September. If not, many stakeholders will have to bear the brunt of not having enough preparations.

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Though he did not provide the details, he said that several schemes have been prepared for the tour operators.

“We hope that the tour operators, including airlines, can be well prepared,” he added.
The Bali provincial administration would later decide not to open up to all countries in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19.

“We will limit the number of countries. We will allow those that handle the Covid-19 fairly well and the tourists who will bring economic benefits,” he said.

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He hoped that Covid-19 cases in Bali will continue to decline in the next few months so that the reopening of borders for foreign tourists can immediately get approval from the central government.

“Hopefully, more areas in Bali will be declared yellow zone [low risk of Covid-19 transmission],” he added.

As of Thursday, Bali Covid-19 Task Force recorded a total of 110,912 confirmed cases and more than 104,000 recoveries. The number of deaths reached 3,804 and active cases nearly 2,600.

(Writer: Ach. Fawaidi | Editor: Dheri Agriesta)

Source: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2021/09/17/155856778/kasus-covid-19-di-bali-melandai-pemprov-susun-skema-pembukaan-pariwisata?page=all#page2.