VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Deputy chief of Presidential Staff, Febry Calvin Tetelepta, during a coordination meeting with tourism stakeholders at the Bina Graha Building in Jakarta on Friday (May 7, 2021). (KSP) - 

The Indonesian government is drafting standard operating procedures (SOPs) for implementing health protocols under a pilot project for reopening Bintan, Batam, and Bali (3Bs) to tourists.

By drafting the SOPs, the government is seeking to ensure that tourist arrivals in the three destinations do not lead to the entry of new virus variants and tourists remain in good health, deputy chief of Presidential Staff, Febry Calvin Tetelepta, said at the Bina Graha Building in Jakarta on Friday.

"The SOPs for health protocols will involve cooperation among the central government, regional governments, and communities," he added.

At a coordination meeting attended by representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Communication and Informatics Ministry, the Health Ministry, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), and regional governments, Febry said the SOPs must include surveillance of tracking and tracing of tourists.As part of preparations for the implementation of the pilot project, ministries/institutions and regional governments will coordinate in preparing tourist destinations for their reopening, he disclosed.

For instance, the Foreign Ministry has established an essential travel corridor arrangement (TCA) with China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore to facilitate urgent business and diplomatic trips, he pointed out.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry is drafting a policy to support tourist visas through the revision of its regulation number 26 of 2020, he added.

The Health Ministry will support the accelerated vaccination of tourism and creative economy workers and people living near the location for the pilot project.

The Communication and Informatics Ministry is preparing super apps for the purpose of tracing and tracking through the synchronization of the e-HAC system at the Health Ministry with the PeduliLindungi system, Tetelepta said.The government is aware of the urgency for reviving the tourism industry in several tourist destinations without delay, he said.

To that end, it is seeking to implement a pilot project for the limited and gradual opening of tourist destinations in Bintan, Batam, and Bali, he added.

The three tourist destinations account for the biggest chunk of tourist arrivals in Indonesia and have passed a stringent verification process conducted by the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, he said.

The pilot project will focus on Lagoi in Bintan, Nongsa in Batam, and Sanur, Nusa Dua, and Ubud in Bali.

Meanwhile, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry and the Riau Islands and Bali provincial governments and the Batam city government have assured the preparedness of the three tourist destinations through the application of CHSE (clean, health, safety, and environment) and stringent health protocols, Tetelepta said.

"Through the various preparations, the pilot project for the opening of tourist destinations in Bintan, Batam, and Bali will run well so that the local people's economy can rebound without violating the health protocols," he added//ANT