The Indonesian holiday island of Bali welcomed its first direct flight with foreign tourists in nearly two years on Thursday, but only a handful of visitors were on board to go into strict quarantine upon arrival.
A Garuda Indonesia flight from Tokyo will arrive in Bali in the afternoon, with six foreigners and six Indonesians on board, said Ida Ayu Indah Yustikarini, an official at the Bali Government Tourism Office.
Although the island was officially opened to visitors from China, New Zealand, Japan and a few other countries in mid-October, there have been no direct non-cargo flights since then.
The six foreign tourists who came from Tokyo traveled on business visas because the new rules for tourists were not ready when they applied to come, Yustikarini said.
Indonesia has said the restart of international flights is intended to boost Bali’s battered tourism sector, which usually accounts for 54% of the economy.
Known for its surfing, temples, waterfalls and nightlife, Bali attracted 6.2 million foreign visitors in 2019, the year before Covid-19 hit. The entire country registered just 1.6 million foreign visitors last year, a 61.57% decrease from 2020.
However, Indonesia maintains much stricter quarantine requirements than its Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand, which will resume quarantine-free entry for vaccinated visitors from Tuesday, and the Philippines, which will do the same from Feb. 10.
Vaccinated tourists to Bali have to quarantine for between five and seven days in hotels or on ships off the coast.
Bali’s slow reopening comes as Indonesia has seen a steady increase in Covid-19 cases, mainly due to the Omicron variant. The country reported nearly 18,000 infections on Wednesday, the highest number since August.
Known for its surfing, temples, waterfalls and nightlife, Bali attracted 6.2 million foreign visitors in 2019, the year before Covid-19 hit. The entire country registered just 1.6 million foreign visitors last year, a 61.57% decrease from 2020.
However, Indonesia maintains much stricter quarantine requirements than its Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand, which will resume quarantine-free entry for vaccinated visitors from Tuesday, and the Philippines, which will do the same from Feb. 10.
Vaccinated tourists to Bali have to quarantine for between five and seven days in hotels or on ships off the coast.
Singapore Airlines said last week it would resume flights to Bali from Singapore from February 16.
Garuda also said on Wednesday it had started a cargo flight from Bali to Japan, carrying 17 tons of goods, including tuna. Most Asian airlines relied heavily on cargo revenue during the pandemic due to low passenger numbers.
Last week, Indonesia opened two islands near Singapore to visitors from the city-state, although visitors are restricted to specific resort areas.
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