Foreign tourists not allowed in to Bali until the end of 2020

Kelingking Beach, Bali -Also known as T-Rex Beach due to its distinctive shape. Photo: TripGuru

Bali, Indonesia – The governor of Bali, Indonesia has announced that it will not allow foreign tourists to enter in to the island until the end of 2020.

Although the authorities in Bali had planned to open its doors for foreigners from September 11 onward, due to the increasing number of cases in Indonesia the plan has been cancelled.

Bali re-opened its beaches, historical sights and other tourist destinations to domestic tourists in end of July and is reported to put more efforts in to promoting domestic tourism to help the county’s economic recovery.

In an official letter dated Saturday, the island’s governor I Wayan Koster said that “the situation in Indonesia is not conducive to allow international tourists to visit Indonesia, including…Bali. The central government supports (Bali’s) plans to recover tourism by opening the doors for international tourists. However, this requires care, prudence, not to be rushed, and requires careful preparation,”

In addition to this he also mentioned that the new cases are under control and the fatality rate is declining while the recovery rate is increasing.

While no specific date was given for the reopening, the local government has been under a lot of pressure as Bali’s economy’s 80 percent relies on tourism.

The hotspot destination for tourists saw a drastic decline in international arrivals when the pandemic started to spread in the country which now has more than 153,000 cases with 6,680 deaths nationwide. Among these, 4,000 cases and 49 deaths are from the island of Bali. However, the government has been criticized for the limited testing which many believe has hidden the true scale of the spread in the country.