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DENPASAR, Bali (The Jakarta Post / ANN): The number of visitors to the resort island of Bali has doubled ahead of the long weekend earlier in the month. With Maulid (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday commemoration) falling on Thursday (October 29) and the government has declared collective leave days on Wednesdays and Fridays, most Indonesians are enjoying a five-day break.
Andanina Dyah Permatasari Mega, a spokeswoman for the Bali airport branch of state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, said the number of passengers arriving in Bali has increased since Sunday.
According to Angkasa Pura records, around 4,900 passengers arrived at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday.
The number increased to 5,000 and then 6,000 passengers on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, Andanina said on Wednesday, as reported by kompas.com.
The average number of daily passengers arriving at Ngurah Rai airport ranged from 3,000 to 3,500.
“The holidays began [early] for public officials and employees of state companies ”. Thirty percent of the passengers who landed in Bali came from Jakarta. The rest came from Surabaya, East Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi and Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara.
The spokesperson said the airport had stepped up its efforts to anticipate crowds and increased efforts to enforce the health protocol.
Meanwhile, state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga predicted an increase in the number of vehicles leaving Jakarta on Wednesday, while most holiday goers would return on Sunday.
The company said that around 147,000 vehicles had left the capital on Tuesday, two days before Maulid.
Jasa Marga spokesman Dwimawan Heru said the company would place restrictions on the number of visitors and vehicles allowed to enter a rest area to maintain physical distancing. The toll road operator would work with the police to manage the traffic heading to the rest areas.
“We urge road users to [uphold their commitment to] comply with health protocols wherever they are, ”Heru said.
Jasa Marga has suspended construction works for the long weekend to avoid congestion on its toll road.
It has also deployed 24-hour standby maintenance personnel and has secured the water supply for each rest area to avoid a water shortage during the Christmas season. – The Jakarta Post / Asia News Network
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