Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    7,523 violators of residency, labor, and border security laws deported in a week    Video contradicts Israeli army account of deadly March 23 strike on Gaza paramedics    Saudi Arabia spends over $241 million to implement de-mining projects in 3 countries    Italy's Meloni government approves controversial security decree expanding police protections and penalties    Egypt submits new Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal: Report    'Everything is possible' — Ronaldo focused on titles, not 1,000-goal milestone after Riyadh Derby win    Saudi, US military leaders discuss enhanced defense cooperation in Riyadh    King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launches program with Indiana University    Ronaldo brace powers Al Nassr past Al Hilal in Riyadh derby thriller    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Slow start as Bali re-opens to foreign tourists
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 14 - 10 - 2021

The much anticipated re-opening of Indonesia's famed tourist island Bali has seen a slow start, with no international flights scheduled, BBC reports.
As of Thursday, fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries including China, India, and France can enter Bali. The UK is not on the list.
But visitors must first serve a five-day quarantine in a hotel.
Officials had closed the international airport in April last year to stop the coronavirus from spreading.
In July, Indonesia became the epicentre of Covid in Asia, but daily cases have since reduced significantly.
Now the tourism sector is hoping that some of the 6 million foreigners who visited the island in 2019, before the pandemic hit, will return.
The island has one of the highest vaccination rates in Indonesia, with more than 82% fully vaccinated, according to health ministry data.
But according to flight monitoring site Flightradar24, there were no international flights scheduled to land at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport on Thursday and Friday.
"Until today, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali Airport still hasn't received any international flight slot request, whether a flight to Bali or from Bali. But, instructions from the national COVID-19 task force said that Bali is now an entry point for international flights to Indonesia," the airport's spokesperson Taufan Yudhistira told Reuters news agency.
Officials had only released the full list of countries on Wednesday evening, and have said they expect hotel and flight bookings to pick up over time.
There were also reports that details of the re-opening including visa requirements were scant.
Hotels, restaurants and other businesses catering to tourists have been gearing up for the re-opening.
"This is very good news, it's very promising to revive the economy in Bali," Asih Wesika, the deputy chair of the Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (Apindo) in Bali, told BBC News Indonesian earlier this week.
But he was also worried that the quarantine requirement would be a "burden for tourists" and turn off many people. Most travellers, such as the Chinese who made up the second highest number of tourists pre-pandemic, typically visit Bali for short periods.
"Now that they are required to be quarantined and have to bear the cost by themselves, this becomes an even more expensive vacation cost," he said.
The head of the Bali tourism office, I Putu Astawa, told BBC News Indonesian that the Covid situation remained "dynamic". "If there is a new variant, we must be careful first while we evaluate further developments," he said.
But he said the government was considering the possibility of reducing the quarantine period to three days, and eventually doing away with the quarantine requirement altogether.
The 19 countries are: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Norway.
Officials said they chose countries considered by the WHO to be low-risk with few positive Covid cases.
Australia, where most of Bali's tourists came from before the pandemic, was conspicuously absent from the list. The country is currently seeing another wave of infections.
Bali's move to reopen comes as several rival tourist destinations in South East Asia are beginning to relax travel restrictions for foreigners.
Since earlier this year the Thai island of Phuket has been welcoming fully vaccinated travellers from any country, and from 1 November travellers from certain countries will no longer need to serve quarantine.
Vietnam is also planning to open up its tourist island of Phu Quoc in November to fully vaccinated foreign tourists.


Clic here to read the story from its source.