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From millions to dozens international travelers in Bali

1 min read
December 17, 2021

Bali, and Indonesia, has barely welcomed any international travelers since March 2020.

beach in Bali, Indonesia
With the Covid-19 pandemic, Bali only welcomed 705 international travelers between April 2020 and October 2021, about 37 a month | Beach in Bali, Indonesia. © Martin Fuhrmann

Because of travel restrictions impacting the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, only 45 global travelers went to Bali between January and October 2021, CNN reports.

The Indonesian province was yet beloved by international tourists before the pandemic. More than a third of foreign travelers visiting Indonesia usually go to Bali.

International arrivals in Indonesia — and Bali — constantly increased every year since 2007 to reach 6.3 million travelers going to Bali in 2019 according to regional government tourism office statistics.

But then, travel restrictions between countries seriously affected Indonesia. Only a little more than 1 million foreign tourists came to Bali in 2020 (-83%). Most of them came between January and March. From April to December 2020, only 660 international tourists went to the region.

Bali is more impacted than the world average.

Hotel occupancy rate in Bali so far in 2021: 10%

Globally, international tourism went back to levels close to the 1980s according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Overall, international tourist arrivals declined by 1 billion in 2020, which accounted for a 74% decrease.

And in 2021, the region only recorded 45 global travelers from January to October.

Indonesia has low vaccination rates and the country closed its borders to international tourists almost all year long. It decided to open them again in mid-October.

On December 3, it was only possible to travel for fully-vaccinated foreign travelers coming from only 19 countries and with health insurance covering Covid-19 treatment. If PCR tests are positive at their arrival, they are evacuated to an hospital. In case of a negative test, international travelers need to stay in isolation in a hotel determined by authorities for ten entire days.

There is some domestic travel but not enough to compensate losses from international tourists. Room occupancy rates in Bali classified hotels were about 60% in 2017–2019. In January-October 2021, the occupancy rate is 10%.

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Clément Vérité

Clément is the executive editor and founder of Newsendip. He started in the media industry as a freelance reporter at 16 for a local French newspaper after school and has never left it. He later worked for seven years at The New York Times, notably as a data analyst. He holds a Master of Management in France and a Master of Arts in the United Kingdom in International Marketing & Communications Strategy. He has lived in France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.