The Covid-19 Pandemic has wreaked havoc in basically all corners of the world and the tourism industry has been significantly devastated by it. Bali is no exception. With over 6 million foreign visitors last year, the pandemic delivers quite a blow on the local economy with travel operators, restaurants and tourist spots scrambling to try and soften the blow by slimming down their operations, cutting costs wherever they could or even shut down completely.
Approximately four months have passed now since Bali closed its doors to foreign visitors and many of its residents are distressed by the possibility of having to endure many more months of not being able to generate income and cover their monthly expenditures.
THE THREE STAGES in REOPENING BALI
On the positive side, a light has definitely appeared at the end of the tunnel with the Balinese government having released a statement detailing its plan to reopen Bali. This will be done in stages. Stage one is opening several tourism spots for local residents and this has been initiated on Thursday, 9 July 2020, with the reopening of numerous beaches such as Kuta and Sanur.
The second phase will commence on July 31 and domestic Indonesian Tourists will be allowed to visit the island. Finally, the third phase will commence on September 11, 2020 and this time Bali is expected to open its doors to both International and Domestic tourists alike.
HOPING FOR THE BEST
Assuming that everything runs according to plan, the realizations of the second and third phase will certainly bring some sort of relief from the doom and gloom brought about by the pandemic. One thing is for sure, we are all in the same boat and we all have to play our parts in following the ‘new-normal measures’ such as wearing masks, washing hands regularly and the whole nine yard. The government of Bali has committed itself to preparing all the tourism spots to be equipped with the necessary infrastructure and standard operating procedures to ensure strict adherence to the ‘new-normal measures.’