Outbreak Threatens G-20 Summit On Bali
The Omicron variant of coronavirus has put Indonesia’s tourism industry on high alert as border closures are returning around the world. Indonesia will ban travellers who have been in eight African countries and extend quarantine times for all arrivals to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant. The ban extends to people who have been in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini or Nigeria in the past 14 days.
Anyone arriving in Indonesia must undertake a mandatory 10-day (as of December 3, 2021) quarantine at facilities designated by the Indonesian government
Indonesian citizens entering Indonesia from the listed African countries and Hong Kong must quarantine for 14 days. All other travellers entering the country are now required to quarantine for seven days instead of three days. Adult travelers, with limited exceptions, must be vaccinated. Consult details here.Effective July 6, 2021, the Indonesian Government required all exempted international travelers to present COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card in digital or hard copy upon check-in and arrival in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Government recognizes the following vaccinations, including but not limited to two-doses of Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, or Sinopharm and single-dose of Johnson & Johnson. To enter Indonesia, all travelers are required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test from a sample collected within 72 hours of their initial departure. Visitors must carry international health insurance with minimum coverage of USD $100,000, including but not limited to COVID-19 related treatment and hospitalization in Indonesia.
Indonesia suspended its visa on arrival program indefinitely. Please consult this page to determine if you are eligible for a visa AND entry.
Indonesia is prioritizing COVID-19 control over tourism as the country prepares to host the Group of 20 nations and other international meetings in 2022.
“The G-20 summit will attract close to 7,000 delegates to Bali,” said Sandiaga Uno, the minister of tourism and the creative economy. “We don’t want to risk this event by rushing to remove quarantine rules. It is not a competition to open faster or sooner—it’s the handling of the COVID situation that takes priority in Indonesia.”
The pandemic has hit Indonesia’s tourism sector the hardest. Uno said the government was watching omicron developments very closely to make sure that the country’s domestic travel market avoids any downturn caused by the new variant. Government ministers are cautious after the summer spike, when delta variant cases surged and hobbled the recovery across the broader economy.
Indonesia welcomed 16 million foreign visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, but that dwindled to just 4 million last year due to COVID-19-induced travel restrictions. That slump has continued in 2021, with only 1.1 million foreign visitors entering in the nine months that ended in September — down 67 percent from the same period the year before. Despite Bali reopening to foreign tourists in mid-October, few overseas visitors have reached the popular island, since there are no direct international flights available.
“We are asking the people in the industry to be patient. We must make sure that when we reopen and resume international travel we are ready,” the minister said. “We want to make sure that the reopening of Bali will minimize risks to all.”
Because of uncertainty over the coronavirus situation, Indonesia only expects around 1.8 million to 3.6 million foreign visitors next year. Even in 2024, when many hope the world will have returned to normal, the tourism goal has been revised downward to about half of the pre-pandemic numbers. In the post-pandemic era, Indonesia will make its tourism sector greener and more sustainable. It is shifting from a quantity basis to a quality basis, where trips will be personalized, customized, localized and smaller in size.
“We aspire to be a competitive player in sustainable tourism and ecotourism. We believe that Bali will continue to be a prominent international tourist destination. New and renewable energies, for instance, will be introduced in all tourism destinations, with carbon offset activities,” the minister said. “Tourists will be offered activities, such as mangrove planting obligations.”
Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world with more than 267 million people. The country is comprised of more than 17,500 islands, including Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra and Sulawesi. Learn more about Indonesia.
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