Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Panjaitan said Indonesia will not open the tourism sector to foreign tourists until the end of 2020.
He said the government decided to focus on domestic tourism to restore the tourism industry that has collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If this is implemented, Bali Governor Wayan Koster’s plan to re-open Bali to foreign tourists on September 11, 2020 will be canceled. The government is still implementing Regulation number 11 of 2020 of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Permenkumham) which temporarily prohibits foreigners from entering the Republic of Indonesia.
However, Luhut said that confirmed cases of Covid-19 in a number of tourism areas had decreased. This has resulted in tourist attractions starting to be re-visited by local tourists. “Yesterday we opened Bali and Banyuwangi” said Luhut. According to Luhut, the tourism sector will recover, although it will not be easy. Luhut estimates that it will take about 10 months for this sector to resume activity to pre-Covid-19 levels.
Previously, the Bali Provincial Government (Pemprov) planned to re-open to foreign tourists on September 11, 2020. The re-opening of the tourism sector will involve strict health protocols to reduce the potential for transmission of the coronavirus.
