Despite the implementation of the travel bubble program, Bali hasn’t received any bookings from potential international travelers.
The Head of the Bali Tourism Agency, I Putu Astawa admitted that the Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport hasn’t received any arrival schedules for international flights as the international terminal will officially re-open on October 14th 2021. “We haven’t received any information regarding the arrival of international flights at the Bali Airport for tomorrow.” Astawa said on Wednesday (13/10).
Astawa also said that Bali hasn’t recorded any reservations for international visitors until the end of October. However, Astawa is still optimistic that this travel bubble program will be a good start for Bali’s tourism sector to start recovering from the current crisis. Meanwhile the Deputy Chief of Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya stated that this situation was a direct impact from the implemented quarantine policy for international travelers.
“We don’t see any bookings, and I think the problem is our quarantine policy. While many other countries such as Thailand, Srilanka, Dubai and Maldives are open without quarantine.” Suryawijaya said on Monday (11/10). He also explained that the 5 days of quarantine for travelers is still a problem, especially for Bali’s Asian market where the majority of them tend to spend less than a week in Bali.
Other than that, he was also concerned that many potential travelers became reluctant to visit the island as they are now required to prepare a bigger traveling budget to undergo this quarantine in an appointed hotel in Bali.
Source: https://thebalisun.com/bali-still-receives-zero-booking-from-international-visitors/
