Shawn Tan
The island paradise of Bali will remain closed to foreign visitors until the end of the year at least. This latest announcement was released by Bali Governor Wayan Koster in a statement. The decision to extend the border closure was made as the island continues to see a spike in coronavirus cases, which currently stands at just over 4,000 cases and 52 deaths. While this figure is lower compared to the rest of the country, authorities are taking no chances, closing Bali for 2020.
Also read: Move Over, Bali: Could Vietnam Be Poised to be SouthEast Asia’s New Luxury Beach Hotspot?
This news follows the initial decision of allowing foreign tourists to return to Bali from 11 September 2020, while beaches and other hotspots like temples around the island have already been open to local visitors since July.
“The Indonesian government couldn’t reopen its doors to foreign travelers until the end of 2020 as we remain a red zone,” said Governor Wayan Koster in a statement. “The situation is not conducive to allowing foreign tourists to come to Indonesia, including to Bali.”
Elsewhere around Indonesia, there have been at least 6,680 coronavirus-related deaths reported, with more than 153,000 confirmed cases, although doubt exists over the actual figures, which is widely believed to be hidden by limited testing and underreporting.
Growing list of countries closed for the year
Bali joins a list of other countries around the world which have declared their borders closed until 2021. These include Australia, South Africa and Thailand, which are limiting incoming visitors to only those on essential business.
The announcement that Bali is closed for 2020 is further bad news for the country’s economy, which was forecasted in April this year to bring about a loss of around US$10 billion (S$13.7 billion) in Indonesia’s tourism revenue. Here’s hoping that things start to look up again for our favourite island paradise and we can all look forward to visiting Bali’s pristine beaches again in 2021. Visit here to for the latest updates on Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation.
