Bali sees only two foreign visitors in October

Saturday, December 18, 2021

WayanSentiani, 36, is earning only a tenth of what she used to earn from selling t-shirts and sarongs near Kuta beach. For about a decade, she would earn up to 2 million rupiah ($140) every day mostly from Australian, Chinese and European shoppers.

Sentianisaid, “Yesterday, I opened the shop from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m and only sold a piece worth 75,000 rupiah. Most of our days here go by like that. I really hope the foreign tourists will come back soon.”

Two months after reopening its borders to international tourists, Bali seems to be a long way from going back to its days of fully-booked hotel rooms, busy restaurants and crowded beaches. In October, only two foreign visitors arrived, compared to half a million in the same month in 2019, with not a single direct international flight landing on its shores.

Hopes for tourist return are getting upset by the island’s stringent quarantine measures and fears of a fresh virus outbreak. The year-end holiday season will serve as an importanttest for Bali. If the current restrictions can curb the virus, the government might relaxrestrictions further to let its tourism sector come back faster.

“We are like sailing between two reefs: health and economy,” said I GustiAgungNgurahRaiSuryawijaya, the deputy chairman of the island’s chapter of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association.

Visiting Bali is now more difficult than other beach destinations in the region. Travelers from overseas must apply for a visa requiring a local sponsor, have an international health insurance and quarantine for at least 10 days. That’s a stark contrast to places like Thailand’s Phuket and Vietnam’s PhuQuoc that let vaccinated visitors from some countries enter without quarantine.

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