international tourism in bali will officially open on october 14

The Indonesian central government has finally decided to allow international visitors to begin arriving at Bali Airport on October 14th, 2021.

Despite extending the partial lockdown in Bali and Java until October 18th, 2021, the central government announced through the Maritime and Investment Coordinator Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, that the Bali Ngurah Rai International Terminal will begin receiving international visitors by October 14th, 2021, bypassing the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.

"Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport will reopen on October 14th if it meets several Covid-19 prevention requirements, including proper quarantine processes, enough testing, and, of course, sanitization." Luhut made the remarks during a press conference on Monday (4/10).

He explained that each tourist must present proof of a hotel reservation in order to be quarantined for 8 days at their own expense. However, Luhut has not stated which countries will get initial access to the island when the program is implemented in the near future. Meanwhile, Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, declared that the government will allow every type of international visitor except repatriation planes for foreign workers. "We still have a few things to think about before implementing this policy on October 14th, including testing techniques, quarantine details, and determining which countries will have access to the island."

Apart from international visitors, businessmen/women and expats planning to return to Indonesia would be eligible to visit the island while this policy is in effect." Sandiaga stated this on Monday (4/10) during the Weekly Press Briefing.

Before implementing this program, Sandiaga will ensure that all medical facilities and insurance policies for international visitors are ready to travel across the island, particularly with the forthcoming G20 gathering in Bali in November 2021. "Many things must be prepared because the majority of the G20 meeting activities will be centralized in Bali in November." Sandiaga concluded.