Indonesia’s president Jokowi supports reopening of Bali tourism

JAKARTA, Jul 31, 2020, The Jakarta Post. The coordinator of the presidential expert staff, Ari Dwipayana has said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo fully supported Bali’s decision to reopen tourism for domestic tourists starting on Friday, The Jakarta Post reported.

He added that since the start of the pandemic, Jokowi had been paying special attention to Bali, whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

“We must overcome this difficult challenge. Bali needs to rise with a new spirit, new hope to be a stronger and better Bali,” Ari said.

The Bali administration has prepared a three-phase plan for relaxing restrictions to welcome back tourists to the island. The first phase started on July 9 when the administration began reopening local businesses and tourist spots for residents of Bali.

The second phase will be carried out on Friday by reopening for domestic tourists. The third phase, which is reopening the border for international tourists, is set to start on Sept. 11.

Deputy Bali Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha said the island would only reopen its natural and cultural tourist destinations for visitors, not entertainment establishments such as nightclubs and karaoke lounges.

“Nightclubs are not allowed [to reopen] yet. Bali offers a lot [of other tourist destinations] like natural or cultural [sites],” Tjokorda said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

As of Thursday, Bali has recorded 3,360 cases of COVID-19 with 2,788 recoveries and 48 fatalities.