Some time ago, we did an interview via Instagram Live with two tourists from Spain who were 'forced' to stay longer in Bali, and could not return to their home country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These two tourist are quite special, because they traveled overland for tens of thousands of kilometers all the way from Madrid, Spain, before finally arriving in Indonesia. Their furthest destination was the paradise island of Flores, The interview was to obtain information from Laura and Maria, the two tourists, in which they expressed how they are feeling extremely lucky because 'they are forced to stay longer' in most beautiful island in the world.
The interview triggered several other media to echo the story, and gather information from other relevant information on how the 'stranded' tourists cope with the #StayHome protocol, and inability to return to their home country.
Their interview can be viewed here:
Soon afterwards, we also conducted an online survey to find out the conditions and gather opinions of foreign tourists who experience the same 'fate', which is staying longer in Indonesia and unable to return to their home country due to the pandemic and restriction of international flights. These were the questions:
- The length of stay of the tourists in Bali because of the pandemic
- The region of origin of the tourist
- Do they require medical assistance?
- Do they require help from the Indonesian government?
- The region they lived in Indonesia during the pandemic
- Type of residence during their stay in Indonesia
- The initiative from the local people to assist during the pandemic
- Their general opinion during their stay in Indonesia. Did they have good experience?
- After the pandemic is over, will they return to visit Indonesia?
The survey was opened at 17:00 WIB on June 8, 2020, and closed on June 18, 2020 at 00:00 WIB. There have been 121 respondents who filled out the survey, and after being examined, only 94 respondents completed the answer of the main questions. And here are the results:
- How long have the tourists been in Bali because of the pandemic?
Most respondents (81.91%) stated that they had been in Indonesia for more than 5 (five) weeks, while 15.96% stayed for 3-4 weeks, and the rest (2%) were new in Indonesia 1-2 weeks.
- The country of origin of the tourists
To simplify the choice of answers, respondents only need to choose the regions of their country of origin. It was found out that almost a quarter (22.34%) of the respondents are foreign tourists from countries in Southeast Asia, followed by tourists from Australia and New Zealand (17.02%), and foreign tourists from countries in East Asia. (15.96%).
|
Australia & New Zealand |
17.02% |
|
Central Asia |
2.13% |
|
Central Amerika |
8.51% |
|
Eastern Asia |
15.96% |
|
Eastern Europe |
3.19% |
|
Middle Africa |
2.13% |
|
Northern America |
10.64% |
|
Northern Europe |
1.06% |
|
Polynesia |
1.06% |
|
Southeast Asia |
22.34% |
|
South Europe |
4.26% |
|
West Europe |
11.70% |
- Do they require medical assistance?
All respondents stated that when they did not need medical assistance.
- Do they need assistance from the Indonesian government?
All 94 respondents stated that at this time they do not need assistance from the Indonesian government, and there were some who stated that information was still lacking in information about flights to foreign countries, and other information related to the opening of tourist attractions.
- The city / island / place they lived in Indonesia during the pandemic
Nearly 3/4 of the respondents (73.40%) stated that during the pandemic they were in Bali, in Jakarta (7.45%), and Lombok (6.38%).
- Type of residence during their stay in Indonesia
During the pandemic, respondents mostly lived in three types of residencies, 36.17% lived in rented houses, 34.04% lived in hotels or villas, while 29.79% lived in friends / relatives’ house.
- The initiative from the local people to assist during the pandemic
Most respondents (a total of 84.04%) stated that the local community in their area where they lived during the pandemic was responsive enough to help if needed, especially around security matters, and there were also some who mentioned that the community helped with food and drink when many restaurants were not open.
- Their general opinion during their stay in Indonesia. Did they have good experience? Vice versa.
As many as 82% of respondents said they had a pleasant experience, although not much could be done during the pandemic, meanwhile they could not return to their country.
- After the pandemic is over, will they return to visit Indonesia?
As many as 84.04% of respondents said they would return to visit Indonesia sometime in the future, when the pandemic is over. While 6.38% said they had no plans for it, and 9.57% said they had not yet decided.
Disclaimer: This survey was conducted using the platform Typeform, although the system allows respondents to fill out surveys more than once
