Bali scraps quarantine requirement for foreign visitors

Bali scrapped its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated international visitors Monday, allowing foreign tourists to enter Indonesia’s island destination without self-isolating.

Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said at a news briefing that Indonesian President Joko Widodo had agreed to implement the change beginning March 7.

Travelers from 23 countries including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom can get a visa on arrival, and international visitors will be able to skip quarantine if they are fully vaccinated and boosted, have a negative PCR test, and provide proof of a hotel booking paid for at least four days.

Foreign visitors must also take a PCR test on their third day in Bali and have health insurance that covers coronavirus infection. Travelers can read more on requirements here.

Bali reopened to all foreign travelers last month, broadening a policy that had previously left out U.S. travelers. Indonesia started welcoming international flights to Bali from a number of countries including China, France and South Korea in October.

Where you can go in Asia right now

The move comes amid a decline in coronavirus cases in Indonesia. According to tracking data The Washington Post compiled through Monday, the country had 76 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the past week, with a 43 percent drop in daily cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, has issued a Level 3 warning for the country, indicating a high level of coronavirus.

The State Department also issued a travel advisory for Indonesia, warning visitors about natural disasters and terrorism.

The popular travel destination in Southeast Asia saw very little tourism in 2021, which many locals depend on. CNN reported that with its airport closed to international flights for most of last year, the island had 45 foreign visitors from January to October 2021. That’s compared with about 1.05 million for all of 2020 and 6.2 million in 2019.