So, you could potentially spend your Christmas watching the tide run over your sandy feet, trekking up volcanoes to take pictures of the sunrise and lounging around your chalet, fruity cocktail in hand.
Yeah, we all know that’s not happening; it’s not that simple.
But it’s still cool that Bali is kind of ready and maybe we will all get to go there early next year.
Reader Bao: But your headline says-
It’s clickbait. Though not entirely.
Ready for International Tourists
Like all places that rely on tourism, Bali took a hit during the pandemic. But things are looking up.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN WTO), Bali is ready for international tourists, and not just ready but reportedly ready before Christmas. That’s just 2 weeks away!
The Asia and Pacific director, Harry Hwang, led a delegation to Bali for an on-site assessment as well as to host a capacity-building workshop on restarting international tourism, the first of its kind in Asia.
The team saw first-hand the implementation of health and safety measures. The measures were drawn up by the Indonesian government and the Bali administration in preparation for the reopening of the island.
“I am extremely happy to see Indonesia and Bali. You guys are ready to open for tourism soon, or next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the government announced that Bali is open before Christmas,” Hwang told reporters on Thursday, 10 December.
In addition, the team visited Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport and a couple other tourist destinations.
“The standards and safety protocol, I found them excellent, if not the best there are,” he said. “I hope our collaboration with the government of Indonesia can be a good example that neighbouring countries, other countries in Asia, can learn [from].”
After the capacity-building workshop, the Indonesian government are considering plans for the reopening of Bali in phases. This will slowly be extended to the rest of Indonesia.
Before Christmas? Ready, but given that it’s just two weeks away and there are a lot of plans involve, don’t bet on it.
But next year? Highly likely.
COVID-19 and the Economy
As mentioned, Bali relies heavily on tourism. Before the pandemic, More than 10 million people visit the island every year and tourism makes up 60 per cent of its gross regional product comes from it, and most of the visitors are international tourists.
With the pandemic, people in the tourism sector found themselves jobless, causing Bali’s economy to contract by 10.98 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020.
Well, I’m sure many travel-starved tourists are raring to feed their economy, if only the restrictions were lifted.
With all the good news (like working COVID-19 vaccines and…erm, McDonald’s having We Bare Bear toys?) these days, 2021 might pick up for all of us.
Featured Image: Cocos.Bounty / Shutterstock.com
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