The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, as well as the Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy, Agency Sandiaga Uno is preparing to implement a travel bubble in Bali after three days of working and meeting with people with an interest in tourism and the creative economy.
The travel bubble concept is limited to certain destinations, acting as a corridor to allow cross-country movement for travellers, as long as they do not exceed a predetermined area.
“The tourism and creative economy community in Bali has signalled readiness for Bali to be opened again with a COVID-19-free corridor or a travel bubble mechanism,” said Sandiaga.
He added that it also accommodates the aspirations of Pelindo III, which aims for foreign tourists to enter by sea, which could also be opened later. The Minister conveyed these aspirations to relevant parties such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Ministry of Health, and others to finalise the travel bubble planning.
This includes examining the possibility of holding a coordination meeting with the Bali Provincial Government as well as the COVID-19 Handling Task Force in March 2021.
Previously, when attending the Regional Meeting of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants-Indonesian Regional Representative Council (PHRI DPD Bali), Sandiaga said that the travel bubble would later carry the concept of COVID-19 free corridors.
In preparation, Sandiaga has asked tourism businesses to apply the clean, healthy, safety, and environmental sustainability protocols or CHSE. He further emphasised that the hope of the Balinese tourism and creative economy community is to get priority vaccinations.
“It also includes several stimulus programs such as soft loans, labour-intensive programs, tourism grant funds, the BISA program, and the CHSE certification,” Sandiaga said.
Finally, he saw that the Balinese were ready to carry out the 3Ms health protocol of wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distance (memakai masker, mencuci tangan, dan menjaga jarak) and the 3Ts of testing, tracing, and treatment.
“I am committed because we want to get out of the pandemic and the current economic situation, ” Sandiaga concluded.
Photo credits Liputan6
Also Read Five-Year Visas for Foreign Tourists Being Discussed