Indonesia’s Bali Island Begins to Reopen After 3-Month Coronavirus Lockdown


KUTA, INDONESIA – MARCH 21: A shop keeper sits outside her shop in the near deserted Poppies Lane II at Kuta Beach on March 21, 2020 in Kuta, Indonesia. 

Normally bustling beaches and streets on the idyllic Southeast Asian island emptied in early April except for special patrols to ensure health protocols to contain the coronavirus were observed. Authorities restricted public activities, closed the airport and shuttered all shops, bars, sit-down restaurants, public swimming pools and many other places on the island that’s home to more than 4 million people.


Koster told a news conference ahead of the reopening the island will gradually reopen shuttered places to locals and the foreigners stranded there during the outbreak. The island will open to Indonesians from other parts of the country on July 31 and new foreign arrivals on Sept. 11.






The total number of stranded tourists in Bali is not known, but more than 169,000 travelers came to Bali in March before the island closed its doors, according to government data. The data showed that some 2,500 travelers had extended their visas to avoid penalties for overstaying them before Indonesia’s government granted all tourists automatic extensions in late March.

The Bali administration data showed the occupancy rate at Bali’s starred hotels plunged to 2.07% in May from 62.5% in December, before the outbreak hit. It down from 51.56% in May last year.


Credits to TIME.COM

Welcome to Bali

Bali Tourism Board


Sponsored Links