Bali reopens to foreign travellers

Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali will start welcoming back travellers from all countries from later this week, officials said, more than three months after announcing it was open to selected nationalities.

Though Bali officially opened to visitors from China, New Zealand, and Japan among other countries in mid October, there has since been no direct flights, tourism minister Sandiaga Uno said. The reopening follows similar announcements by Thailand and the Philippines, which put quarantine waivers on hold in December over initial uncertainty about vaccine efficacy against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The decision comes despite a steady rise in Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases this month, despite having brought outbreaks under control in the second half of last year. Health authorities have attributed the increase to Omicron. Known for its surfing, temples, waterfalls and nightlife, Bali drew 6.2 million foreign visitors in 2019, the year before COVID-19 struck, but tight pandemic border restrictions devastated tourism, which is usually worth 54% of its economy.

(Source: Reuters)