Sharjah24 – AFP: The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered almost all the resorts and restaurants across Indonesia's Gili Islands, famed for their turquoise waters, sandy beaches, and diverse marine life.
Situated close to Bali, tourism and the local economy had been booming, with around 1,500 foreign visitors visiting Trawangan every day.
But when authorities first imposed a nationwide virus lockdown in March 2020 and then closed borders to international travellers, his restaurant could not survive the loss of business.
The three Gili islands -- Trawangan, Meno and Air -- have long been reliant on foreign travellers. There are some 800 hotels with 7,000 rooms but only between 20 and 30 properties remain open, according to Lalu Kusnawan, the chairman of Gili Hotel Association who runs a resort in Trawangan.
Shops, cafes, restaurants all stand empty, some up for sale, others abandoned altogether. Dust and spider webs gather on long unused tables and chairs.
Staff that once worked there have been forced to find other ways to earn a living -- some have turned to fishing just to feed their families.
The coronavirus pandemic will cost the global tourism sector $2.0 trillion in lost revenue in 2021 -- the same losses as 2020, the UN's tourism body warned last week.
International tourist arrivals will this year remain 70-75 percent below the 1.5 billion arrivals recorded in 2019 before the pandemic hit, according to the World Tourism Organization, adding that the sector's recovery will be "fragile" and "slow".
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