Indonesia plans travel bubble in Bali, Batam and Bintan to bring back foreign tourists

TCA or travel bubble in 3B will be a pilot project to bring foreign tourists to the country in order to revive the tourism sector and the creative economy that was affected by the pandemic.

Deputy for Strategic Policy of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, R. Kurleni Ukar, in her statement in Jakarta explained that to get to the implementation of TCA in corridor 3B, many steps must be completed.

"For that we need joint collaboration between the central government, local governments, and other tourism stakeholders. In Riau Islands, there are two zones that will be prepared as locations for the travel bubble, namely Nongsa in Batam and Lagoi in Bintan, while in Bali there are three zones prepared, Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua," she said.

"Towards the implementation of the TCA in 3B, we monitor and evaluate every time. For Bali, we do monitoring every two weeks. Batam-Bintan once a week. In each of these areas we have initiated the formation of a working group that will cooperate with us to prepare reports and developments related to the readiness, both in tourism & creative economy and other supporting sectors, ahead of the implementation of TCA," she said.

The acceleration of vaccination in 3B is something that needs to be considered not only for vaccination for tourism and creative economy workers but also for the people in the zone, so that the zone can become a zone with a low risk of transmission at the time the TCA is implemented, she said.

The implementation of health and 3T (tracing, testing and treatment) protocols still needs to be done in a disciplined manner by all levels of society, so that the pandemic can be quickly controlled.

"CHSE certification will also continue to be carried out at 3B. Both in the tourism business, products, and destinations. However, there are several supporting efforts that are not in the domain of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy which also need to implement a health protocol based on the CHSE principle so that tourists feel safe and comfortable when using it. Such as tourist entrances at airports, terminals, stations. Then the mode of transportation, both land and air, is an important part," she said.

Bintan in Indonesia is a tourist favourite. Image by Anil Nallamotu/Unsplash

Furthermore, said Kurleni Ukar, business establishments that support the tourism sector and the creative economy also need to implement CHSE-based health protocols. Like in Bali, for example, there are money changers, pharmacies, souvenir shops, and others.

"We continue to do monitoring and evaluation at 3B, so that it is ready to become a destination for foreign tourists to visit. Everything is done in precondition, whether it is safe routes, safe zones, what kind of end-to-end transportation, referral hospitals, mitigation SOPs. We are preparing everything together with the central government, local government and related industries," she said.

However, according to President Joko Widodo's direction, the implementation of TCA in Bali takes into account the existing situation, if it is more conducive, then a TCA can be carried out in the period June-July 2021. On the other hand, if the development of the COVID-19 case increases, it will be reviewed.

"The Governor of Riau Islands proposed the implementation of TCA for the Bintan Lagoi area starting April 21, 2021. However, it is still considering whether vaccination can be resolved, Covid19 is under control, and the response from the Singapore government. They prepared several scenarios, namely on April 21, then May 1, or on June 1, 2021," he said.