PM / By David Lipson
Posted 22h ago22 hours ago, updated 7h ago7 hours ago Australia has not yet allowed travel to Indonesia, despite daily case numbers below those in the UK.(AP: Firdia Lisnawati)
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On Bali's idyllic Gili Islands, the music at the Jungle Bar nightclub has been silent ever since the pandemic struck.
Indonesia's Tourism Minister says the country is ready for Australian tourists to return.
He says discussion with Australian officials led him to believe they would consider it in 2022
Nightclub owner Brendan Muir wants to welcome Australians back soon
Owner Brendan Muir has kept the nightclub and his hostel shut since March last year.
"Pretty much every tourist left straight away, it was really depressing to see how quiet it was," he says.
"The street was just like a ghost town.
"Every time there's announcements that the airport's going to open up there, all the locals get really excited and start making plans, but we've had a lot of false starts."
He's more hopeful that this time, it might be the real deal and international tourists will start to return to Bali in greater numbers.LIVE UPDATES: Read our blog for the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic
Indonesian minister says 'we are ready'
Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno says his message to the Australian government is that Indonesia has taken the right steps to welcome back tourists.
"Please be guided by data. We are here, we are ready," he says.
He wants to reassure Australians that Indonesia has turned a corner, after a devastating outbreak which peaked in July at over 50,000 new cases per day.
"We have instituted social restrictions programs that have, thank God, worked very well at bringing down COVID case numbers." Bars in Bali, like this one at Seminyak beach, are empty.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
But while he says Indonesia is ready to accept tourists, he understands the process of Australia approving travel for tourists will take time.
"Australian tourists are the number one market for Bali in particular, but we just have to understand the Australian government's decision and priority, and we fully respect that.
"I am 100 per cent sure that the Australian government is making decisions based on the scientific data that they have, and we have to respect that."
He says discussions he's had in the past with Australian officials indicated that they were prioritising domestic tourism in 2021 and would look to have more detailed discussions with the Indonesian government about opening tourism in 2022.
The minister's comments have caused some confusion within the Australian government, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement last Friday that the ban on international travel would be lifted on November 1.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Australians will be able to travel from that date.
"This includes to Bali and the rest of Indonesia," they say.
"Australians also need to consider return quarantine arrangements into their home state/territory and the potential for limited flight availability."
They also say changing visa and quarantine circumstances in Indonesia means all travellers are advised to check rules and closely monitor advice from the department on its Smartraveller website.
Meanwhile, thousands of Balinese tourism operators are waiting anxiously for Australians to travel in confidence.
And so is Mr Muir, who would like to see some of his fellow Australians return.
"They're pretty important," he says.
"We all need a few heavy beer drinkers around."
As an expat who lives in bali, I wonder why they insist on 5 five days quarantine for cavvibated tourists who also bring a negative pcr test. Dont they understand they are shooting their legs like this? European islands opened up this sunmer without problem.
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