BALI (BLOOMBERG) - Foreign tourists may be able to visit Bali again as soon as June under a travel corridor programme to help revive the economy, according to Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno.

The travel corridor arrangement will be offered to countries that are deemed successful in their vaccination programmes, able to contain the spread of the coronavirus and could offer reciprocal benefits, Mr Uno said in a statement.

Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua are major holiday spots in Bali that are included in a pilot project to begin receiving foreign travellers in mid-June or July, under strict health protocols, said Mr Uno.

As many as two million Bali residents will have to be vaccinated before the pilot project can start.

South-east Asia's largest economy has started to ease restrictions to spur household spending after gross domestic product shrank last year for the first time in two decades due to the pandemic.

Covid-19 has so far infected more than 1.4 million Indonesians in the past year and killed almost 39,000 people in the country.

The government may allow a chartered flight to bring in overseas travellers under the pilot project, which will be closely monitored and evaluated every two weeks, said Mr Uno.