Indonesia’s push for Bali travel bubble with Australia
Desperate to reclaim Bali’s crowning glory as tourist mecca, Indonesia is determined to create a ‘business and travel’ bubble with Australia. But it could struggle to get the green light.
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Desperate to reclaim Bali’s crowning glory as an Aussie tourist mecca, the Indonesian government is determined to create a ‘business and travel bubble’ with Australia.
The plan extends to four countries and will include the Asian nations that provide high levels of investment and tourist dollars - Japan, South Korea and China.
Mr Odo Manuhutu, Indonesia’s deputy co-ordinating minister for investment and tourism, said the criteria will encompass first business interests and then tourism.
The exceptions to travel restrictions between the countries have been referred to as travel bubbles, travel bridges or corona corridors.
Last year, Australia and China accounted for more than 20 per cent of visitors to Indonesia, while China and Japan provided more than one third of direct foreign investment.
“These potential travel agreements between the four countries would become prototypes for opening up to other countries,” Mr Manuhutu said.
Trade and travel corridors are grounded in agreements between countries that have contained coronavirus, and explore ways to free up movement between the nations.
Australia has only so-far considered the trans-Tasman corridor with COVID-19-free New Zealand.
However, the Federal government is also considering reducing quarantine times for people travelling from low COVID-19 nations such as Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Indonesia is still battling with the virus with nearly 40,000 current cases, 2200 recorded deaths and just over 15,000 recoveries.
Broad public testing in Indonesia is verging on non-existent.
Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said potential corridors without stop overs or transits are possible – but Indonesia not a likely contender.
“I do think we can have direct travel bubbles to countries where we can be sure that by good testing numbers and sampling there is minimal community transmissions for example, South Korea, Taiwan and probably Japan,” he said.
“Hong Kong might be on the list as well. I don’t think Indonesia will be in any corridor soon because of (lack of) testing ... which likely will be the same among most low income countries unfortunately.”
A spokesman for the Minster for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham, said that any ‘bubble’ or travel corridor – even to New Zealand - is likely to be months away and
Bali’s Governor Wayan Koster has taken a hard line on keeping the island closed to tourism.
He told a meeting yesterday that Bali, which has powers that supersede the central government, will follow Singapore in its response to reopening.
“Singapore in December did not accept other citizens and its citizen were prohibited from leaving. So I think almost all countries should follow this protocol,” Mr Koster said.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis Bali has been an anomaly that has attracted the attention of global media for its apparent lack of infections.
So far just five people have died in Bali from 741 cases.
“We will not be provoked by pokes so we quickly open tourism. I am not in a position to follow the complaints from a number of tourism actors who want to open too quickly,” Mr
Koster said.
“This must be done slowly.”
The tourism sector in Indonesia faces potential losses of $4 billion due to the drastic decline of foreign tourists and 60 trillion rupiah (US$4.1 million) due to fewer domestic tourists from January to April.
Originally published as Indonesia’s push for Bali travel bubble with Australia