Bali set to reopen to all countries from February 4
Dust off your passports and get that crushed Bintang singlet ironed, because Bali is back – and it will reopen in just a few days.
It’s time to dust off your passports and get that crushed Bintang singlet ironed – because Bali is back.
The popular Indonesian island, responsible for luring more than 1.2 million Australians in 2019, is set to reopen to the world this week.
From February 4, Bali will allow international travellers to visit from anywhere around the world, Reuters reported.
However there is a catch. According to reports, all vaccinated foreign arrivals will still be required to quarantine for five days while the unvaccinated will need to stay in isolation for seven days. Any other entry requirements are yet to be made public.
Bali officially opened to a handful of countries in October last year, including China, New Zealand and Japan though there were no direct flights meaning visitors had to go via Jakarta.
Doable, but inconvenient for many.
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Across Indonesia, and like the rest of the world battling the Omicron wave, there has been a steady rise in cases of Covid-19.
According to Bloomberg, an average of 9150 new infections were recorded in Indonesia in the last seven days through to Monday were reported, from just 190 at the start of the year.
In response to the announcement, Singapore Airlines will resume flights to Bali from Singapore from February 16.
The opening to more countries will hopefully see a boom to tourism across the holiday island, with international visitors and subsequent tourism spend accounting for more than half of its economy.
Bali is a popular destination for Australia travellers, mainly due to the short flight distance, culture, beaches and rainforests.
Earlier this month, a YouTube video titled “Poppies Lane Kuta Bali Situation 2022 / Bali Condition” gave a confronting, behind-the-scenes insight into how bleak life has become for many locals on the island.
The video shows the once bustling side streets on the iconic Poppies Lane I and II now have closed stores revealing a “really sad situation”.
In the video, the four-star Grand Barong Resort now features endless vacant guest rooms.
Australia is gearing up to recommence flights to Bali direct from Melbourne this month, while Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide will depart to Denpasar in March with Qantas and Jetstar.
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