- Title: Surfboard shop owner hopes to ride high with Bali reopening
- Date: 12th October 2021
- Summary: KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 10, 2021) (REUTERS) 38-YEAR-OLD SURFBOARD RENTAL BUSINESS OWNER AND INSTRUCTOR, HALFIA LONDA, PADDLING BY ON HER SURFBOARD AT KUTA BEACH VARIOUS OF HALFIA SURFING VARIOUS OF HALFIA CARRYING SURFBOARD OUT OF OCEAN HALFIA WIPING HER FACE HALFIA STANDING WITH HER SURFBOARD IN FRONT OF OCEAN (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) 38-YEAR-OLD SURFBOARD RENTAL BUSINESS OWNER AND INSTRUCTOR, HALFIA LONDA, SAYING: "My name is Halfia and I am 38-years-old. As a surf instructor and surfboard rental provider (my surf school) 27 Surf Bali, I hope that the arrival of tourists coming back to the island can give us a chance to work again, return to our normal lives, and revive economic opportunities on the island Bali." VARIOUS OF HALFIA SITTING ON BEACH NEXT TO HER SURFBOARD (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) 38-YEAR-OLD SURFBOARD RENTAL BUSINESS OWNER, HALFIA LONDA, SAYING: "Even just for my meals, I have had to borrow some money, which I have never done before, as I rarely borrowed money (from others) to pay for any meal in my life before." HALFIA CARRYING SURFBOARD THEN SITTING DOWN VARIOUS OF HALFIA WAXING SURFACE OF SURFBOARD KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 11, 2021) (REUTERS) EMPTY SEATS BY THE BEACH MAN CARRYING SURFBOARD AND WALKING ON BEACH KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 10, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HALFIA HELPING CUSTOMER SELECT SURFBOARD (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) 38-YEAR-OLD SURFBOARD RENTAL BUSINESS OWNER AND INSTRUCTOR, HALFIA LONDA, SAYING: "Our life and activities were all in the water, on the beach, surfing and then suddenly there were no activities, it's really sad, we're really sad." KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 11, 2021) (REUTERS) TWO 27 SURF BALI SURF SCHOOL STUDENTS STANDING UP ON SURFBOARDS ON BEACH IN FRONT OF INSTRUCTOR STUDENT STRETCHING STUDENTS, HALFI AND ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR STRETCHING TWO STUDENTS STRETCHING HALFIA TALKING TO PARENT OF STUDENT STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR CARRYING SURFBOARD AND WALKING TO OCEAN STUDENT SURFING IN OCEAN (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) 38-YEAR-OLD SURFBOARD RENTAL BUSINESS OWNER AND INSTRUCTOR, HALFIA LONDA, SAYING: "So the (customers) we most anticipate are (those from) countries like Australia and South Korea, and those are roughly the countries that have the biggest impact on us, the surfing business, or the world of surfing." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SURFING IN OCEAN JAKARTA, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 12, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXPERT AT BINUS UNIVERSITY, TIRTA MURSITAMA, SAYING: "I think this is an opportunity for Balinese people and also Bali's government. And if you see in the national level, of course, for the Indonesian economic recovery. So I think this is a positive effort from the ministry and for the people. But I think we need to appreciate the government's effort. We know that it's not easy for every government in the world how to recover." KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 11, 2021) (REUTERS) HALFIA CARRYING SURFBOARD OVER TO OCEAN HALFIA SURFING IN OCEAN
- Embargoed: 26th October 2021 09:49
- Keywords: Bali Indonesia business coronavirus economy reopening surfboard surfing tourism
- Location: KUTA, BALI, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: KUTA, BALI, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001EYUPZYF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Surfboard rental business owner and instructor Halfia Londa is pinning all her hopes on Indonesia's plan to reopen Bali to some foreign tourists from mid-October.
Halfia's string of surfing schools is among hundreds of tourist businesses to have been crippled by the Indonesian government's decision to suspend all international flights to and from the popular island destination from April 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The closure stripped away most of Halfia's business virtually overnight, plunging her into debt.
With very little income, she was evicted from her rented house and has been relying on the generosity of friends to get by.
"Even just for my meals, I have had to borrow some money, which I have never done before, as I rarely borrowed money (from others) to pay for any meal in my life before," Halfia said, outside her surfboard rental shack on Kuta Beach.
Halfia has kept her surf rental business open for the few local customers still around, offering two-hour rentals for 150,000 rupiah ($10) - half the pre-pandemic price.
There was some hope this week when the government announced it would reopen Bali and the neighbouring islands of Batam and Bintan on Oct. 14 to travellers from 18 countries, including China, New Zealand and Japan.
Previous plans to reopen the tourism hotspot have been repeatedly delayed.
Visitors will be required to quarantine for five days at their own expense.
The full list of countries has yet to be announced.
Bali, where tourism accounts for more than half the economy, has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.
The once thriving holiday spot has been eerily quiet for months, with hotels, restaurants and beaches shuttered and thousands of hospitality jobs gone.
Tirta Mursitama, an expert in international business at Binus University, said now is the time for Bali to seize the opportunity for economy recovery.
"I think this is an opportunity for Balinese people and also Bali's government. And if you see in the national level, of course, for the Indonesian economic recovery. So I think this is a positive effort from the ministry and for the people," he said.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has experienced one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the region.
It has officially recorded more than 4 million cases and 142,000 deaths, although public health experts believe the true toll is far higher. However, case numbers have eased significantly in recent months, to fewer than a thousand cases a day, compared with a peak of 56,000 cases a day in July.
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