BALI open to tourists from 19 countries

Indonesia’s Bali and Riau Islands are reopening to visitors from 19 countries starting Thursday, according to the country’s Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan. Bali visitors need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and they must spend their first five days in quarantine.

“We have given permission to 19 countries to be able to travel to Bali and the Riau Islands,” Luhut announced in a meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The countries are: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, and Norway.

Tourist visas must be obtained in advance.

The countries were chosen based on data showing low positivity rates, Luhut said.

Travellers from the countries can enter Bali and Riau Islands as long as they follow the requirements before and upon arrival, Luhut said.

Eligible travellers must be fully vaccinated with a second vaccine taken at least 14 days prior to travelling to Indonesia, have insurance coverage for Covid-19 treatment worth at least US $100,000 and pay for their own accommodation during a five-day quarantine period.

“One of the reasons for the optimism behind Bali’s readiness was due to Covid-19 vaccination having reached 99 percent for the first dose and 90 percent for the second dose,” the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry’s Crisis Management Special Staff, Henky Hotma P. Manurung, said, according to a report in the state-run news outlet Antara.

Luhut added that the reopening will be evaluated periodically and that “this list of 19 countries only applies specifically to direct flights to Bali and the Riau Islands.”

He hoped that the implementation will boost Bali’s tourism-dependent economy. An estimated 54% of the island’s income is earned from the tourism industry.

Source: CNN