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The much-awaited Bali reopening on September 11 is no longer happening based on the recent announcement of Bali Governor I Wayan Koster.
In a new document signed and dated 22 August 2020, the Bali Governor explained that Bali will not be opened for international tourism until the end of 2020. Bali has originally planned on reopening its borders for international tourism starting next month but had not received the go signal from the Indonesian government.
Koster explained that after speaking with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bali will delay its reopening until 2021 in line with the central policies of the Government of Indonesia.
“With regard to the plan for the third phase, the start of tourism activities for foreign tourists, it is necessary to carefully consider the following:
- The Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2020 on the Temporary Prohibition of Foreigners from Entering the Territory of the Republic of Indonesia is still in effect.
- The Indonesian government still enforces a policy that prohibits its citizens from travelling abroad, at least until the end of 2020. In line with that, the Indonesian government has not been able to open the door of entry for foreign tourists to Indonesia until the end of 2020, because Indonesia is still in the red zone category. The situation in Indonesia is not yet conducive to allowing foreign tourists to visit Indonesia, including visiting Bali.”
Koster said that the central government strongly supports the plan of reopening Bali to foreign tourists, but it requires extreme caution and careful preparation being one of the world’s main tourist destinations. If the effort to restore tourism failed, it may have a negative impact on the image of Indonesia and may cause counterproductive results to tourism recovery.
However, the Bali Provincial Government is finalising the procedures, systems and infrastructure so that the recovery of Bali tourism can be carried out smoothly and successfully, while still being able to handle the COVID-19 pandemic well.
Koster stressed that Bali will focus on optimising efforts to bring domestic tourists to Bali in order to restart tourism on the island.
