Incomes badly hit on Indonesia's Gili islands, with tourists gone

GILI TRAWANGAN • Chef Ilhani used to serve up Japanese cuisine to holidaymakers every night. Now, he makes just US$3 (S$4.10) a day selling fried snacks on the near-empty streets of once-bustling Gili Trawangan.

The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered almost all resorts and restaurants across Indonesia's Gili islands, famed for their turquoise waters, sandy beaches and diverse marine life.

Tourism and the local economy had been booming, with 1,500 foreign visitors visiting Trawangan, situated close to Bali, every day.

But when the authorities imposed a nationwide virus lockdown in March last year and then closed borders to international travellers, Mr Ilhani's restaurant could not survive.

Almost two years on, he said he is struggling to support his wife and four children.

"Life is painfully difficult now. I sell fried snacks because it is something that locals can afford," he said. "In the past, whatever we sell, there are tourists who will buy, but now... the island is deserted."

The three Gili islands - Trawangan, Meno and Air - have long been reliant on foreign travellers.

There are some 800 hotels with 7,000 rooms, but only 20 to 30 properties remain open, according to Mr Lalu Kusnawan, chairman of the Gili Hotel Association, who runs a resort in Trawangan.

Shops, bars, cafes and restaurants all stand empty, some up for sale, others abandoned altogether.

Staff who once worked in these places have been forced to find other ways to earn a living - some have turned to fishing.

The pandemic will cost the global tourism sector US$2 trillion in lost revenue this year - the same losses as last year, the World Tourism Organisation warned last week.

International tourist arrivals will this year remain 70 per cent to 75 per cent below the 1.5 billion arrivals recorded in 2019 before the pandemic hit and recovery will be slow, added the United Nations tourism body.

Mr Ilhani fears the suffering will be prolonged because the Indonesian government is planning to impose stricter restrictions in anticipation of a fresh wave of infections.

Borders were officially re-opened in October, but direct international flights to Bali have yet to resume as tourists face quarantine and strict visa requirements, limiting the demand.

And as fears grow over the new Omicron variant, Indonesia has extended its mandatory quarantine to 10 days, dashing hopes of an imminent tourism revival.

Mr Kusnawan fears he and his fellow islanders cannot take much more. But for foreign travellers who arrived in Indonesia before the borders closed, or who already live in the country, the situation has enabled them to explore more of the island paradise untroubled by mass tourism.

Mr Nicolas Lindback, who is originally from Norway, explained: "I will never experience the island like this again, but if I have to choose, I prefer the tourism back... because the locals have already suffered long enough."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE