Indonesia to open the island of Bali to all foreign travelers on February 4

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Indonesia will open the island of Bali to all foreign travelers on February 4, said the officials, making it the latest step in Southeast Asian nations’ attempts to save their tourism sectors after two years of pandemic-induced closures.

LuhutPandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said that the quarantine time for fully vaccinated travelers would be reduced to five days, down from seven currently.

In October, Bali officially opened to visitors for a limited number of countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand; however, there are no direct international flights to the island. Bali welcomed just 45 foreign visitors last year after 1.05 million in 2020 and 6.2 million international visitors in 2019.

One of the reasons why COVID-19 has proved to be so upsetting for Southeast Asian economies is that many of the region’s economies are exorbitantly dependent on international tourism, which came to a complete halt.

Few regions were heavily affected as the island of Bali, where tourism makes up 54 percent of the local economy. Bali sealed its borders to international visitors in April 2020, and plans for a reopening have been delayed several times due to new outbreaks every time.

« Back to Page

• Bali’s Nusa Penida’s popularity surges as tourist destination

• Taro Village in Bali is growing popular among tourists

• Due to huge scams, tourists are advised not to use ATMs in Bali

• Seaweed farming Bali’s next tourism attraction?

• Bali implements tourist tax, sparks global traveller debate