The chairman of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance (APPMB), I Wayan Puspa Negara, ST., has welcomed the issuance of the official regulation allowing Ngurah Rai International Airport to open after 17th September 2021.
The regulation is from the Law and Human Rights Minister No. MHH 02. GR.02.02/2021 concerning certain immigration checks, as a place to enter in the period of handling COVID-19 and the national economic recovery. As of 17th September 2021, it states that in the third dictum, the immigration checkpoint for the airport is able to open.
The eight airports noted in the document are:
- Kualanamu, Medan
- Hang Nadim, Batam
- Soekarno-Hatta, Tangerang
- Halim Perdana Kusuma, Jakarta
- Yogyakarta International, Yogyakarta
- Juanda, Surabaya
- Sam Ratulangi, Manado
- I Gusti Ngurah Rai, Bali
“It is clear that the international open border regulation has been set. We also heard that today, 18th September, a Qantas plane will land in Ngurah Rai. Of course, this is a breath of fresh air for Bali tourism players,” said Puspa Negara.
Other sources state that the Qantas flight was a repatriation flight rather than one with inbound tourists to Bali.
He also said that he hopes stakeholders in Bali will immediately take strategic steps regarding the recovery of Bali’s tourism by compiling a schedule and priority program for the gradual recovery of tourism. This means that his team will begin to prepare all facilities and infrastructure to be ready to reopen the business sector.
“We, APPMB, really appreciate the Law and Human Rights Ministry, which has clearly issued regulations in stages, starting with regulation no. 11 of 2020 regarding the temporary prohibition of foreigners from entering Indonesia, then regulation no. 27 of 2021 concerning the granting of visa restrictions, and regulation 34 of 2021 concerning the granting of Indonesian entry visas, until the latest decree M.HH-02.GR.02.02 of 2021,” he explained.
The Law and Human Rights Minister decree no. M.HH-02.GR.02.02 of 2021 contains a list of immigration checkpoints that can be used as places of entry for travellers, entry for foreign workers, and entry for Indonesian migrant workers.
The ministerial decree comes into force on 17th September and is signed by the Law and Human Rights Minister, Yasonna H. Laoly.
Source: Law and Human Rights Ministry and Mata Dewata