COVID-19 converts a tourist island in Indonesia into a desert of deserted resorts

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Chef Ilhani used to serve Japanese cuisine to tourists every night; now he makes just US$3 a day selling fried appetisers on Gili Trawangan's once-bustling streets.

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced the closure of practically all of Indonesia's Gili Islands' resorts and restaurants, which are known for their turquoise waters, sandy beaches, and rich marine life.

With roughly 1,500 foreign visitors visiting Trawangan every day, tourism and the local economy had been thriving due to its proximity to Bali.

His eatery, however, could not endure the loss of revenue when authorities first imposed a statewide viral lockdown in March 2020 and subsequently blocked borders to international travellers.

He claims he is still trying to sustain his wife and four children almost two years later.

 

"Now is a really trying time in my life.
"I sell fried snacks since it's something that residents can afford," he told AFP, adding, "In the past, tourists would buy everything we sold, but today the island is desolate.""

Trawangan, Meno, and Air, the three Gili islands, have long been dependant on international visitors.

 

According to Lalu Kusnawan, chairman of the Gili Hotel Association and owner of a resort in Trawangan, there are approximately 800 hotels with 7,000 rooms, but only about 20 to 30 remain operational.

Shops, pubs, cafes, and restaurants are all closed, some for sale, and others abandoned entirely.
On long-abandoned tables and chairs, dust and spider webs accumulate.

Staff who used to work there have been forced to find alternative sources of income, with some resorting to fishing to feed their families.

 

According to the UN's tourism authority, the coronavirus pandemic will cost the global tourism sector US$2.0 trillion in lost revenue in 2021, the same as it did in 2020.

According to the World Tourism Organization, international tourist visits would be 70-75 percent lower this year than the 1.5 billion recorded in 2019 before the epidemic, with the sector's recovery being "fragile" and "slow."

 

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Edited December 10, 2021 by ASEAN NOW Content Team