Indonesia to Discuss Vaccinated Travel Lanes with Several Countries

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartanto, stated that the government is still reviewing Indonesian participation in the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) with several countries to restore the Indonesian tourism sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) program, fully vaccinated travelers can enjoy round-trip travel without quarantine.

Many countries have applied the program, including countries in the Asia Pacific Region.

"The discussion of Vaccinated Travel Lanes is continued. The government needs to monitor the level of cases in various countries," said Airlangga to Antara, after an evaluation meeting of Emergency Public Activity Restriction (PPKM) in the Presidential Office Jakarta, Monday, 15 November 2021.

He stated that President Joko Widodo had ordered the ministers to study the provisions of foreign tourist visits.

In addition, the government will monitor the Covid-19 cases in several countries before making a travel agreement. Currently, the condition of the Covid-19 case in Indonesia is getting better compared to the previous month.

Airlangga showed that only 1 out of 100,000 population in Indonesia infected by Covid-19 cases, while in Thailand there were 89 cases per 100,000 population, Singapore 454 cases per 100,000 population, Malaysia 127 cases per 100,000 population, and Australia 51 cases per 100,000 population.

Based on the latest data on 14 November 2021, there were 9,018 active cases in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the addition of daily cases on that date was 339 cases.

Previously, Indonesia planned an agreement to open a joint travel corridor with several countries, including Malaysia. The Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the Malaysian Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, have held bilateral meetings regarding the opening of the tourism routes.