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THE Indonesian government plans to open a tourism corridor (travel corridor/travel bubble) to four countries, namely China, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
According to Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Odo RM Manuhutu in a virtual press conference in Jakarta said the Tourism Ministry was discussing the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy.
“We are designing travel bubbles for four countries, namely China, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. This has been discussed in the last May 28 limit. We will open four countries first, then of course to other countries with regard to health protocols,” he said.
Odo explained that the four countries were chosen because of the consideration of the large number of tourists from the country visiting the country. In addition, another consideration is the business aspect because the four countries invest a lot in Indonesia.
“In the near future it is likely that only business people will still be traveling. Therefore, travel bubbles can be opened while maintaining strict health protocols. But it is not closed to tourists. Later the locomotive is businessmen who come to Indonesia. After entrepreneurs start coming, it will naturally encourage tourists to visit,” he noted.
Odo affirmed that the criteria for the tourism corridor were being discussed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then discussed with several countries. Later there will be a negotiation process to agree on criteria established by Indonesia in accordance with the criteria of the tourism corridor destination countries.
“After the agreement is reached, two or four weeks later we have begun to be able to open this travel bubble. Indeed, there have been many requests to reopen certain lines. However, to open a travel bubble, there are several aspects that need to be highlighted namely the issue of health, safety and technical readiness,” he added.
He concluded that the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy could not be sure when the travel bubble could be opened. The reason is that it depends on the situation in each region, mainly the main destination, in handling COVID-19. [sources/photo special]
