Foreign visitors to Bali, Indonesia’s holiday island, will no longer be subject to quarantine beginning next week, officials said on Saturday. In neighbor Malaysia, restrictions on travellers from Thailand and Cambodia have been removed.
Malaysia and Indonesia have imposed some of the most restrictive entry procedures in Asia to curb Covid-19 outbreaks and prevent the spread of new variants, but the restrictions have led to a downturn in the tourism industry.
According to a spokesperson, the Indonesian government is considering a waiver for visitors who have been vaccinated against the Coronavirus, but the decision is likely to be made by President Joko Widodo on Monday.
Arrivals from Cambodia and Thailand who have been vaccinated can skip quarantine in Malaysia from March 15. Several daily flights fly between Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Phuket.
In Malaysia, the quarantine requirement for Singaporean visitors has been waived, while in Indonesia, since October, visitors from specified countries have been granted entry to Bali, progressively reducing quarantine time to three days.
Following the lead of neighbouring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, which have waived quarantine in exchange for Covid tests before they depart and upon arrival.