A reports shows that only 153 international tourists have applied for a visitors visa to Bali since the border was reopened back in October of this year.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration confirmed that only 153 international visitors have gone through the application process for a visa since since the borders reopened. Tourists have applied from Sweden, France, and India.
This number is still far from the expectations that the Bali tourism sector had hoped for as most of the people on the island have been heavily reliant on tourism for years.
According to a survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association 84% of international travelers will not book a destination that has an active quarantine upon arrival rule in place.
The quarantine policy is constantly changing and was recently extended to 10 days due to the Omicron variant.
Virologist of Bali Udayana University, Professor IGN Mahardika, said that Bali will continue to suffer until the quarantine requirement has been fully removed.
“Even with a shorter quarantine time, nobody will visit the island,” Prof. Mahardika said.
Millions of Bali locals have been reported to be out of work and spending all their savings to survive. Many have liquidated all assets including hotels and tourism vehicles.
Tourism experts don’t expect to see a full tourism recovery until at least 2024 leaving which will be a further blow to an already devastated economy on the island.
Source: https://thebalisun.com/only-153-international-tourists-have-applied-to-visit-bali-since-reopening/
