singaporeans may get quarantine free travel option in bali

Indonesia could include Bali in an established travel bubble with Singapore, the government has said, and has asked airlines to connect the two islands directly.

The government announced yesterday that it has opened a travel corridor that will allow fully vaccinated Singaporeans to visit Indonesia's neighboring islands of Batam and Bintan without being quarantined. Singaporeans traveling to the two islands must also present a negative COVID-19 test result taken before departure.

Indonesians from Batam and Bintan wishing to travel to Singapore should always follow the latest COVID-19 rules and regulations.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan, who is in charge of handling COVID-19 in Indonesia, said yesterday the government hoped there would be a similar travel schedule between Singapore and Bali to boost the tourist industry of the holiday island.

"I spoke with the Minister of Transport [Budi Karya Sumadi], we want to add more direct flights from Singapore to Bali," the prime minister said.

"[If the program is launched] we will evaluate it every week, and if it does not work, we will stop it."

The revival of international tourism in Bali has been disappointing since the program launched in October 2021. In fact, an official said that no commercial international flights had landed at Ngurah Rai airport in the three months since. reopening of Bali to international tourists.

Prior to its reopening, the island had only 45 international tourists in the first 10 months of 2021.

Tour operators lamented Indonesia's strict travel restrictions and called for exceptions for Balinese tourists.

Bali welcomed 6 million tourists in 2019. The island, which depends almost entirely on the tourism industry, came to a halt when the pandemic hit.

Things start to take shape towards the end of 2021, with a massive influx of domestic tourists to kick-start the island's economy.