Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy aims to inoculate as many as 3 million people in Bali and about 70,000 in Batam and Bintan to achieve herd immunity in the islands before they are reopened to foreign visitors.
Indonesia has inoculated over 10.6 million people so far, the most in Southeast Asia.
This has helped halve the number of new infections to an average of about 5,000 a day in April from nearly 11,000 at the start of the year.
Tourism contributed over 4 percent of Indonesia’s GDP in 2017 and accounted for more than 10 percent of total employment, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The target was for the sector to account for 5 percent to 6 percent of GDP this year and gradually increase it to 10 percent to 12 percent by 2025.
According to Tourism and Creative Economy minister Sandiaga Uno, the Indonesian government is in talks with different countries like China, South Korea, and Singapore for potential travel bubbles to allow travelers to visit the island.
