Maintaining Tourism Hope on "Island of the Gods"

Kompas/Cokorda Yudistira

Tourist activities at Kuta Beach, Badung, Bali, Wednesday (9/3/2022), stretched as international flights returned to Bali..

Foreign tourists who have had two or three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine may come to Bali without quarantine. This breathes fresh air into the world of tourism on the "Island of the Gods". It is ready to welcome guests according to the standard health protocols.

During 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, 6.27 million foreign tourists visited Bali. On average, no fewer than 7,000 international travelers entered Bali every day. Covid-19 made the number of visits drop to 1.06 million people in 2020 and tumble further to just 51 visits in 2021.

A fresh breeze blows after there was a flight from Japan to Bali in early February 2022, followed by Singapore, then Australia began on Friday (4/3/2022). Since the beginning of March 2022, there has been an average of 210 passengers per day on international flights to Bali through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. From within the country, the arrival of passengers at the domestic terminal has touched an average of 7,000 people every day.

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For Putu Budi, 50, waiting has become a daily routine. The man from Singaraja, Buleleng regency, was busy in the driver's seat on Wednesday (9/3). Putu's colleague, Kadek, 28, said, "We are waiting for a call from the terminal."

Putu and Kadek, who come from South Kuta, Badung regency, are drivers for a tourist transportation service company operating in the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport area in Badung.

Kadek said he had queue number 11 and Putu number 12. They claimed to have been at the airport since morning. "As of this afternoon only three cars have been called," Kadek said. Putu said, "Keep patience and remain optimistic. Hopefully there will be calls soon."

ISTIMEWA/ANGKASA PURA I BANDARA I GUSTI NGURAH RAI

Photo documentation of Public Relations of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Badung, activities at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport when passengers arrive on international routes on Wednesday (16/2/2022)..

Putu was grateful that he had returned to work even though his current income had been drastically reduced. Putu disclosed he had been laid off because the number of cars operated had been reduced due to a lack of passengers at the airport. At that time, tourism in Bali, he said, was practically dead after a temporary closure to foreign nationals visiting or in transit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The chairperson of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association, who is also the chair of the Bali Tourism Board, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, said the arrival of foreign tourists to Bali had enlivened the optimism of the community in the Covd-19 pandemic. This condition will surely awaken the Bali economy again, which relies on the tourism service sector as a driving force.

Without quarantine

In a press conference through various platforms on Monday (7/3), Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno ensured policies without quarantine and returning visas on arrival (VOA) would have a positive impact on developments of the tourism and creative economy sectors. Sandiaga said the government's policies were the signal of the rise of the Indonesian economy.

Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati welcomed this. He said all policy stakes in Bali related to the tourism sector were welcomed and he appreciated the government policies regarding the implementation of the absence of quarantine and VOA service return for foreign tourists.

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"The governor of Bali also firmly conveyed that immediately after getting out of the airport door, foreign tourists become the responsibility of the accommodation, both transportation and hotels. All parties involved must be responsible," said Tjok Ace, the nickname of the man who is also the chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian hotel and restaurant association.

The whole thing is regulated under Covid-19 task force circular letter No. 13/2022 on health protocols for foreign travelers entering Bali, Batam and Bintan in the Covid-19 pandemic period. Upon arrival, foreign travelers must follow the requirements, including complying with the provisions of the health protocols set by the government and downloading the Peduli LIndungi application and filling in the Indonesian Health Alert Card (e-HAC).

Kompas/Riza Fathoni

Puri Ubud Dance Performance - Foreign tourists enjoy Balinese dance performances at Puri Saren Agung Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali,

Australian people

When welcoming the arrival of Garuda Indonesia aircraft from Sydney, Australia, at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Friday (4/3), Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra promised Garuda Indonesia would return to serving its Perth-Bali international route after serving Sydney-Bali flights and Tokyo-Bali flights. Irfan said Garuda considered Bali to play an important role as an Indonesian indicator. Therefore, according to Irfan, the recovery of Bali will become an effort for the recovering of Indonesia.

On the same occasion, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said, until early March there would be 11 flights that would serve international routes to Bali, including Garuda Indonesia. With regard to Australia, according to Koster, it is the biggest country in terms of the origin of foreign tourists to Bali, apart from China and the European region.

Bali tourism data show that of the 6.2 million foreign tourist visits to Bali in 2019, as many as 1.2 million foreign tourists came from Australia and around 1.1 million foreign tourists came from China. If it was grouped by region, countries from the Asian region, including ASEAN, were the origin of the largest number of tourists to Bali, followed by Europe, then Oceania which includes Australia and New Zealand.

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Australian Consul General in Bali Anthea Griffin revealed, many Australians were waiting to immediately come to Bali. In a press conference with Irfan, Irfan Setiaputra and Wayan Koster at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Friday, Anthea said, not a few Australians still lived in Bali. Therefore, Anthea welcomed the reopening of the Sydney-Bali direct flight route.

The hope for the awakening of the world of tourism on the "Island of Gods" is certainly something to be grateful for. However, this easing should still be accompanied by high discipline from all stakeholders in carrying out the health protocols for the sake of health and safety for all.

Welcome to Bali....

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.