Bali welcomes back tourists with first international

flight

Bali began a tentative re-opening to foreign tourists on Wednesday with the first
international passenger flight to the Indonesian holiday island in nearly two years.

The resumption of flights comes as the Southeast Asian archipelago loosens

quarantine rules even as it battles a surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron
variant.

A Singapore Airlines plane carrying 109 international travelers and 47 Indonesians

landed in Bali on Wednesday, the island's governor Wayan Koster told a press
conference.

The foreign visitors must stay in a quarantine bubble at one of 27 designated hotels
for three to seven days, depending on the number of vaccine doses received,
according to new nationwide rules published Wednesday.

"I hope that in early March, there will be no more quarantine obligation for tourists as
long as they comply with health protocol requirements and show negative test results
on departure and arrival," the governor said.

Arriving at Bali airport, Australian holidaymaker James said the re-opening was a
"great sign" for tourism. Swiss national Manuela, a frequent visitor to Bali before the
pandemic, said she had been eagerly anticipating the first flight to the "Island of the
Gods".

"Two years not going to Bali is a long time. After my friend wrote me that Bali would
open, I immediately looked for the first flight," she said.

Singapore Airlines said it will operate daily flights between the city-state and Bali to
meet "good demand".
Other airlines including Australia-based Jetstar Airways could resume flights to the
holiday hotspot as early as next month, Bali's governor added.

"We are aware of the increasing and fluctuating Omicron variant cases, but as long
as we are strictly implementing health protocols, we should not be worried," said Bali
Hotel and Restaurant Association chair Rai Wijaya.

Bali authorities trialed a limited re-opening in October for a group of select

countries but the response was tepid due to strict quarantine requirements and the
absence of direct flights.

Indonesia reported a record number of new corona virus cases on Tuesday.

Daily infections topped 57,000, according to the government's COVID-19 task force,
surpassing the previous peak in July last year during the country's Delta wave.

Elsewhere in the region, the Philippines re-opened for international tourism last week
while Vietnam is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from March 15.

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