News update!
Bali tourism has received domestic tourists visits since July 31. This is a breath of fresh air for Balinese tourism businesses, whose businesses have suffered losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian Hotel General Manager Association (IHGMA) Bali, I Made Ramia Adnyana, said that tourism in Bali has revived. Since the second day, it is said that 4,000 domestic tourists have come.
Hotels have started to expand since the opening of tourism, for local people in Bali on July 9, 2020. We can see this from 2 days after the opening to the domestic market that it has penetrated 4,000 arrivals at Ngurah Rai International Airport. The chairman of IHGMA DPD Bali, I Nyoman Astama, also said the same. According to him, this can provide enthusiasm and hope for employers and workers that the tourism sector can recover soon.
The breath of Bali’s tourism life has started to blow. This gives enthusiasm and hope for the tourism business and is welcomed positively by tourism entrepreneurs and workers. Thanks to that, the hotel occupancy rate in Bali as a whole has increased even though it is still below 10%. However, hotels and villas that have remote locations such as in Pemuteran (North of Bali) and Nusa Lembongan Island are considered to have occupancy sometimes reaching 70%.
Even though the overall occupancy rate is still single digits or below 10%, several hotels and villas that have strategic and unique locations have enjoyed a dozen percent or 2 digits of room occupancy rates. Villa is a type of accommodation service that is unique and suitable for oxidation during COVID because the fact that villas are far from one another, physical distance elements have entered. Cleanliness and sanitation standards are also very important because guests pay more at villas.
It is predicted that the target of visiting foreign tourists can be achieved in 2025
Nyoman said that if this condition continues, the number of tourists who come can continue to increase. However, he did not want to target too high, only hoping that the hotel occupancy rate could touch 30% by the end of the year. If this momentum continues, hotel occupancy can continue to tens of percent and it is estimated that by the end of the year it will touch 30 percent.
How to get to Bali now?
Currently, tourists cannot be as easy as usual to visit Bali because there are several conditions that must be obeyed. One of them is that tourists must fill out biodata on the LOVEBALI application before leaving for Bali.
Instructions for the LOVEBALI application can be accessed on the https://lovebali.baliprov.go.id page. Tourism accommodation entrepreneurs in Bali must ensure that every tourist has filled out the LOVEBALI application. After arrived, tourists must activate the Global Positioning System (GPS) on their cellphones (HP). This was done as an effort to protect and safeguard tourists. That is important for tracing tourists, if something unexpected happens, the scene of the incident can be directly traced.
Here are the other conditions that tourists must comply with if they want to visit Bali:
- Show a negative COVID-19 certificate through a PCR-based swab test or rapid test no later than 14 days after the letter was issued.
- Tourists who have shown a negative certificate are no longer required to carry out a PCR-based swab test or rapid test in Bali unless they experience clinical symptoms of COVID-19.
- Tourists who are unable to produce a negative COVID-19 certificate are required to have a rapid test in Bali. If the results are reactive, tourists must take the PCR-based swab test in Bali. While waiting for the results, tourists will be quarantined at the designated place.
- The cost of rapid tests, swab tests, quarantine or health facilities is the responsibility of tourists.
Then, is Bali safe to visit?
Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel General Manager Association (IHGMA) DPD Bali, I Made Ramia Adnyana, said that visiting Bali are guaranteed to be safe because they apply health protocols based on cleanliness, health, safety, and environment (CHSE).
The Balinese government and the entrepreneurs have prepared and implemented a CHSE-based health protocol to ensure that tourists are safe to travelling in Bali. Of course, it is very important that stakeholders are consistent and committed to implementing the health protocol as determined by the government.
The entrepreneurs have obtained a standard operating procedure (SOP) foundation from the Regency Government to run a tourism business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Badung Regency Government on June 4, 2020, through Circular Number 259/2020 swiftly and anticipatively issued a legal basis for tourism businesses to implement SOPs that must be implemented in post-COVID-19 tourism management.
In order for the health protocol policy to run well, the visitors have to comply with the rules that have been set when traveling in Bali. What is no less important is that tourists travel responsibly (travel responsibly).
Bali as one of the new normal favourite touristic destination
Meanwhile, the well-known travel start-up from Germany, Tourlane, on April 8, 2020, released research results, one of which remains Bali as the most popular island in the world.
This determination uses the search method of the number of hashtags on Instagram. During several periods of research carried out, Bali Island became the most sought-after destination with a total of 60,473,066 hashtags. This number surpassed Ibiza Island, Spain, in second place with hashtags of 16,320,328, and the island of Sicily, Italy, in third with 12,974,059 hashtags.
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, Wishnutama Kusubandio welcomed the research results. This determination further motivated Indonesia to grow new Bali-Bali in addition to increasing Bali tourism to be more friendly and sustainable So far, Bali is known in the world as a natural and cultural tourist destination. The attraction of Bali lies in its beautiful landscapes, as well as the traditions and culture of its unique people.
The strength of tradition and culture in Bali is undoubtedly the reason why tourists come besides its natural beauty. So, it’s no wonder, Bali is very popular in the world. However, Wishnutama also reminded that even though Bali has been popular, there is still a lot of homework to do. Especially after the Covid-19 epidemic, tourism trends will change, leading to tourism that focuses on the health and comfort of tourists. The people of Bali continue to collaborate to improve ourselves in facing new travel trends, including issues of waste management, sanitation, hygiene and comfort. Balinese people also have a high awareness of clean tourism.
The determination of Bali as the most popular destination in the world is not the first time it has been obtained. Previously, the Island of the Gods was ranked in the top 24 cities in the world as the TripAdvisor version of the World’s Best Destination 2017. In addition, several international sites and associations have also named Bali as the best between Travel and Leisure, World Travel Awards, Conde Nast Traveller, to the UNWTO Awards.
So, are you ready for this season? Let’s hope for the best, to be soon recovered, so that we could go and see each other again. Of course, while maintaining the health protocol… see ya!
