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AGUNG Krishna, a star hotel worker in Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali Province, was enthusiastic about participating in the COVID-19 vaccination some time ago. He participated in the vaccination because the government has designated the Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua areas as green zones, which can receive visits from foreign and domestic tourists.
“We hotel workers in Ubud and most tourism workers in Bali have been out of work for a year. I’m unemployed. The family economy is in disarray,” said Agung Krishna.
It is not only Agung Krishna who has economic difficulties, almost all businesses in Bali have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism has become the backbone of Bali’s economy. And this tourism sector has been the worst hit by the pandemic.
The Head of PHRI DPD Badung, I Gusti Agung Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya often said that the condition of Bali tourism was already bad. The situation and conditions in Bali are very severe, they are bleeding. Bali as a world-class tourism destination needs to save its health and its tourism business,” said Rai Suryawijaya.
Hearing the government’s policy to open Bali to foreign tourists in three green zones made tourism workers and the islanders feel excited again. International flights at Ngurah Rai Airport will reopen.
Minister of tourism and creative economy, Sandiaga Uno who is already based in Bali and Bali Governor I Wayan Koster have long said that the three tourist areas namely Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud are designated as green zones, which are safe for receiving foreign tourists.
This was echoed again when President Jokowi came to Bali to review mass vaccinations in Ubud and Badung regency. After the president’s visit, Sandiaga Uno estimated that Bali would reopen to receive foreign tourists around June-July 2021.
To prepare for it, the Menparekraf reviewed the readiness of Ngurah Rai Airport. After going through a coordination meeting, the plan is for four countries to become the entry points for foreign tourists to Bali, namely the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, China, Singapore and the Netherlands.
However, attracting foreign tourists to Bali is not as easy as one might think. There are a number of challenges that can be an obstacle for foreign tourists coming to Bali. And that challenge is partly beyond the capacity of the Indonesian government authorities.
Movement Restriction
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world. Based on Worldometers data, March 25, 2021, there are 125,327,779 cases of COVID-19 in the world. A total of 101,171,020 people recovered, and 2,755,275 people died. A number of large countries, such as America, Brazil, India, Russia and France, have a large population of COVID-19.
To prevent the spread of the Corona virus and its consequent death, all countries have implemented restrictions on human movement. Many countries impose “lock down” or lock, close a city or country. As a result, the economy was paralyzed, especially tourism.
Almost all countries restrict the movement of their citizens, including traveling or traveling abroad to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For example, Canada, does not prohibit its citizens from going abroad, but if its citizens go abroad, they must be tested for COVID-19 when they return and be isolated for three days in a hotel, at a cost of 2,000 Canadian dollars (around IDR22 million). If you don’t catch COVID-19, residents are required to be in isolation for two weeks at their home. This policy certainly makes citizens think about traveling abroad.
Another example in England, the case of the Indonesian badminton team for All England, had to be expelled from the championship just because on the plane they were traveling on, Turkey Airlines, a passenger tested positive for COVID-19. Even though none of the players have been exposed to the Corona virus, all of them must be quarantined for two weeks at the hotel. As a result, they failed to compete for the All England team cup.
Of course, a policy like this will make foreign tourists think again about traveling abroad this year, including to Bali. Foreign tourists usually postpone travel until next year, 2022, waiting for the situation to be safe, after most of the world’s population has been vaccinated. And the COVID-19 pandemic is decreasing.
Green Zone
The green zone tourist destination policy which only covers Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua in Bali Province will make foreign tourists think long. Why? Foreign tourists incur large travel costs, but their tourist visits in Bali are only limited to these three areas. Many tourist destinations in Bali that hit in the world are not in the green zone, for example Tanah Lot in Tabanan, many natural waterfalls in the Gianyar and Buleleng regencies, mountain and lake views in Kintamani, Bangli Regency and Beratan Lake Bedugul, are located in Tabanan Regency.
A tour guide Nyoman Sutiayasa stated that he is confused about making tour packages for foreign tourists if it is only limited to three green zones, in Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua. Foreign tourists will definitely think about traveling to Bali if only limited tourist destinations can be visited.
Meanwhile, the green zone policy in Bali, namely Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua, has created social jealousy for other tourist destinations, because it is not a zone open to tourists. Even the Buleleng and Tabanan regencies have prepared their tourist destinations to be able to receive foreign tourists and domestic tourists.
Buleleng Regent Putu Agus Suradnyana proposed three green tourism zones in his area, namely Pemuteran, Lovina and Munduk. He also accelerated mass vaccination in the three tourist destinations.
Not to be outdone, the Tabanan Regency Government has proposed three tourist destinations in its area, namely Tanah Lot, Ulun Danu Beratan, and Jatiluwih to become a green zone, which is ready to receive tourist visits.
On the one hand, foreign tourists are still reluctant to travel because of various regulations related to COVID-19, while in Bali itself there is jealousy regarding the establishment of a green zone for tourism.
That is a problem that must be resolved by the central government, the Bali provincial government and tourism operators in Bali, before the Island of the Gods is reopened to foreign tourists. [antaranews/photo special]
