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THE opening of Bali tourism cannot be done partially by only considering a number of areas as green zones. The implementation of the green zone which is limited to a number of areas is considered ineffective in supporting the opening of the province’s tourism.
According to tourism observer from Udayana University I Nyoman Sunarta, foreign tourists visiting the Island of the Gods will still see the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as a whole in the province.
Even though Bali determines 3 areas, namely Ubud, Sanur, and Nusa Dua as green zones, tourists will still consider the status of Bali province. The reason is, when arriving at the airport to the three green areas, tourists will pass through a number of other areas that are not necessarily included in the safe zone for the COVID-19 pandemic.
This means that instead of setting a partial opening of tourism in the 3 zones, the government should encourage the status of Bali province to be included in the green zone for the development of COVID-19. Steps to reduce cases of spread and vaccinate 70% of the population of Bali are considered the most relevant to ensure the condition of the Island of the Gods is safe from the spread of COVID-19.
“Even if Bali is opened in 3 zones, it is true that the employees who work in the three zones all come from there, not from other regions. If outside the three areas it is still red, what’s the point of having a green zone. they see Bali red or not, not three zones,” he said.
Even so, making Bali a green zone is not necessarily the key to the success of opening up tourism. This is because areas around Bali, such as Java and Nusa Tenggara, also need to ascertain their status. Moreover, with the opening of tourism to foreign tourists, it will encourage people in other provinces to go to Bali. In fact, the status of the province is not necessarily the same as Bali.
“If Java is still red, Bali is green, Javanese people are not allowed to go to Bali, they can be angry that tourists may not come. That is a consideration, so it cannot be seen partially,” he noted.
Opening tourism with the travel bubble concept must be based on the status of the spread of COVID-19 in each country. If Indonesia is already in the green zone status, the countries that come must also come from the same zone.
Meanwhile, Bali, which is currently being affected by a new variant of the COVID-19 mutation from South Africa and the UK, is considered not to be an obstacle. Bali’s ability to recover after the discovery of new variants is the key to opening up tourism. Moreover, it is not certain that foreign tourists who come to Bali will bring a new variant of COVID-19.
According to Nyoman Sunarta said instead of opening Bali tourism to foreign tourists, the realization still depends on many things. Bali is better off thinking realistically by taking advantage of the local economy.
“The government should be more realistic, move the local economy through local people visiting Bali rather than waiting for foreign tourists to enter,” he said.
Bali continues to schedule the opening of tourism for international tourists in July 2021 even though there are 2 residents infected with a new variant of the COVID-19 mutation due to transmission from South Africa and the UK.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said that our side together with the Ministry of Tourism have recently returned to the green zone to monitor preparations for the opening of tourism which will remain focused on being carried out in July 2021. In fact, currently the Bali government has begun to make arrangements related to visas and insurance for tourists.
“Until now we have not shifted these things, a few days ago I went to the green area, focused on July 2021, we are discussing everything in July including visas and insurance arrangements,” he stated.
He added, the potential for foreign tourist visits in July 2021 would not be large. Moreover, a number of countries of origin expected, such as India and Singapore, are currently facing COVID-19 cases. In fact, previously, the Bali government had met with the Indian Ambassador to Indonesia regarding the planned visit of tourists from that country.
The number of foreign tourists who will visit Bali in July 2021 cannot be ascertained. Only, it is believed, new bookings will occur in the last minute or not like normal conditions that are carried out long ago.
“Previously, India because Dubea had met in person, but in this condition, Singapore has also entered but now is also experiencing problems,” he said.
Furthermore, Cok Ace revealed, previously there were 4 scenarios for foreign tourists visiting Bali, namely from the Middle East, the Netherlands, Singapore and China. In the midst of the development of COVID-19, Bali assesses that there are still visits from China that can be the basis for tourism recovery. We can still expect China, from a quantitative point of view, their previous years were also quite large. [bisnis.com/photo special]
