Fury over Australians’ desire to vacation in Bali amid Covid crisis
Like Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest nation in terms of population, faces an intimidating wave of Covid-19 that has claimed thousands of lives, Australians yearning for a vacation on its popular tourist island of Bali are under scrutiny.
Sydney-based author Tiffany Tsao of Indonesian descent took to Twitter this week to denounce a headline published by The Australian about the escalating crisis in Indonesia.
“Covid hell in Indonesia as Australians may have to wait years to return to Bali,” the headline read as Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to block international travel to protect the nation from the virus.
Tsao described it as the “worst headline ever” and said it was “insensitive” for Australia to prioritize recreation over the Covid crisis which has devastated one of its its close neighbors.
His tweet, which has since been retweeted more than 1,300 times, has elicited equally strong responses from other users.
“Disgusting. As if our only worry in the world is our ability to get drunk on Bali‘s beaches as the country goes through a devastating health crisis,” one person wrote.
“They want to party when people die,” said another.
Indonesia reported a record increase of 1,025 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the country’s total death toll to more than 71,000.
With the highly infectious Delta variant rampant across the country, Bali has once again been subject to tighter Covid restrictions.
A Coconuts Bali editorial, responding to The Australian headline, suggested that Australia does not selfishly care about the well-being of Indonesians.
“Do Australians just don’t care about Indonesia beyond their Bali vacation plans, despite being their next door neighbor? We can’t say we’re surprised,” the editorial said. .
“Who cares about your delayed vacation plans? “
He said the story “epitomized the way the ignorant westerners view Indonesia.”
Bali is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Australians, with 1.23 million Australians visiting the island in 2019 before the pandemic. The island’s economy remains heavily dependent on tourism.
There is no shortage of Australian tourists, expat says
A British expat in Bali, who co-runs a local wellness company, told Yahoo News Australia Bali was surviving without Australian tourists before the latest lockdown.
He said that while parts of Kuta were in financial difficulty without Australians, other parts of the island saw an influx of British and European travelers.
“It’s already busy here… it’s not far from maximum capacity,” he said.
“People dread its opening (to Australia).”
He said the Australians still managed to find a way to enter Bali despite their own country’s strict border controls.
However, Bali’s deputy governor Cok Ace told the Sydney Morning Herald last month that Australians had “missed so much” and hoped a deal could be reached for tourists to return before 2022.
Australia closed its international border at the start of the pandemic and is not expected to open it until mid-2022, as the country’s botched vaccine rollout is significantly delayed.
There has been speculation about a travel bubble between Australia and Bali similar to the one set up with New Zealand, but it has yet to materialize.
Tsao’s tweet prompted some people to call for a permanent ban on Australians arriving in Bali.
Earlier this week, four foreign tourists, including two Irish nationals, were ordered to leave Bali for violating Covid restrictions.
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