JAKARTA, 17 March 2022: Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said on Tuesday he intends to bolster tourism recovery in Bali by promoting “a new economic approach post-pandemic.”
Quoted by Antara news service, the minister said a “new economic approach would involve the advancement of digital technology and focus on preventive health as well as cleanliness and sustainability aspects.”
He made the comments during a webinar hosted by the Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Since 7 March, the government has been conducting a zero-quarantine trial for foreign tourists arriving in Bali Island, and the minister claimed the province had seen no Covid-19 upsurge since the trial started.
Based on the Bali experience, he confidently talked of implementing the same policy nationwide.
As part of the Bali experiment aimed at kick-starting tourism recovery, the island’s authorities reinstated the visa-on-arrival scheme available for foreign tourists from 23 countries.
The minister confirmed that the scheme would be extended to tourists from more countries, such as China and India, although the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in China will keep the outbound travel gateway shut for some time to come. Travel from India is more likely since the country is opening for international flights and easing Covid-19 rules.
“To date, tourists have been waiting for the visa-on-arrival scheme reinstatement that will ease their immigration process while arriving in Bali. This is one issue that we need to promptly address,” Uno noted.
Antara reported that ministry data indicated around 5,0000 overseas travellers arriving in Bali from 3 February to 12 March 12 of which 76% were foreigners.
(Source: Antara)
