Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry says it will be implementing a Cleanliness, Health, and Safety (CHS) program across the archipelago’s top tourist destinations as it prepares to welcome visitors after the coronavirus pandemic, with Bali set on becoming the project’s pilot location.
“CHS aims to increase tourists’ trust toward destinations and the tourism industry in Indonesia after COVID-19 to push visitors and movements in Indonesia, which in the beginning will be dominated by domestic tourists,” Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani, secretary of the ministry, said in a statement.
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The government has expressed optimism that Bali could reopen to tourists in October, citing the province’s success thus far in controlling the coronavirus outbreak.
As of today, Bali had reported 359 positive COVID-19 cases, including 257 recoveries and four deaths.
In addition, the ministry is also eyeing the reopening of other tourist destinations in Indonesia along with Bali, including Yogyakarta and Riau.
The standard operating procedure (SOP) for this CHS program, as laid out by the ministry, appears to be pretty straight forward with an emphasis on healthy habits and the use of technology, as well as a mention of zero-waste management for the destinations. The recently issued statement, however, did not disclose further details.
Officials plan on carrying out a trial run for this new, post-pandemic SOP — which will eventually result in a CHS certification for destinations deemed to have fulfilled the relevant criteria.
As the country’s top tourist destination, Bali will become the first to implement the CHS program, specifically within the Nusa Dua area, Giri said.
