Staged Reopening of Bali Tourism Announced

The Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, has announced the planned stages to reopen tourism on the Island of the Gods. The three stages are designed to reintroduce tourism to Bali, with definite dates dependant on the situation and dynamics of COVID-19 developments in Bali. The first stage begins on 9th July, with tourism being opened specifically for the movement of local people in Bali and working in certain sectors, except for education and tourism. The second stage will be to open for domestic tourists in August 2020, and the final stage will be in September 2020, when the island aims to welcome international tourists again. So whether or not this is carried out will greatly depend on the situation and dynamics of COVID-19, especially the local transmission in Bali,” Koster said. Koster added that Bali is applying precautionary principles relating to the opening of tourism because presently, Bali is focussed on effective handling of COVID-19. Moreover, the current trend of local transmission cases is on the rise and without caution, it’ feared that a second wave could occur, which will be more difficult to handle. Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wisnhutama Kusubandio said that if phase one of the new normal implementation in Bali, the opening up of various sectors, can run smoothly, then the second stage of opening the tourism sector can be done.