The provincial government in Bali says it will be limiting foreign tourists for the upcoming year-end holiday to minimize the risks of COVID-19 transmission, though the island has yet to see a meaningful uptick in international tourist numbers since it reopened last month.
“This is in anticipation to prevent the third wave of COVID-19 transmission in Bali,” Tjok Bagus Pemayun, acting head of the Bali Tourism Agency, said.
According to a report from state news agency Antara, Bali is preparing to accept a maximum of 1,500 foreign tourists daily during the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
As of Sunday, no international flights have landed at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport since it reopened to foreign tourists on Oct. 14, a spokesman from airport management firm Angkasa Pura I said.
Last month, Governor Wayan Koster claimed that more than 20,000 foreign tourists have booked their Bali hotel rooms for this month, hinting at an optimistic outlook for the local tourism industry. However, the Indonesian Association of Tours and Travel (ASITA) stressed that bookings don’t mean much because they can be canceled at any time.
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