(Bloomberg) -- Bali is returning to life: tourists are sipping cocktails poolside, local surfers are teaching visitors how to ride the waves and yoga aficionados are practicing their poses as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean.

Its economic recovery, however, is still slow and lagging behind peers from Thailand to the Caribbean. After cutting off international flights when Covid-19 hit, Indonesia only eliminated quarantine requirements for foreign visitors in March, bolstering Bali’s efforts to lure tourists who contribute more than 60% to the resort island’s economy.  

Now comes the G-20. 

While media attention will focus on the first in-person presidential meeting between China’s Xi Jinping and America’s Joe Biden, the hosts are hoping the “Island of the Gods” gets a long-term and desperately needed economic boost from its return to the world stage. 

“The G-20 Summit is the best promotion for Bali -- it will show that the island is ready to welcome tourists,” said Trisno Nugroho, who leads the central bank’s office in Bali. “Tourism has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels but we are progressing in the right direction.”

The gathering of leaders from the world’s biggest economies -- and the thousands of staff and personnel trailing them -- is expected to contribute as much as 7.4 trillion rupiah ($472 million) to the economy, according to the government. More than 400 events related to the gathering are planned, involving some 33,000 workers. 

The impact of the reopening is already being felt. Balinese workers from chefs and cleaners at five-star resorts to self-employed guides and drivers -- many of whom returned to their family’s villages during the pandemic -- are getting paid again. Roads leading to resorts like the Westin and Grand Hyatt were spruced up, and G-20 banners line many of the key thoroughfares. 

The summit will be held Nov. 15-16 at Nusa Dua, on the island’s southern coast. Just 20 minutes away is the recently renovated international airport, where the process of getting a taxi or car was simplified, with dedicated areas and staff to help with ride-hailing apps. That’s an improvement for an airport once known for long lines and a complicated layout. 

The number of foreign tourists is up, reaching 1.2 million in the first nine months of the year, according to government data. That’s still far from the record 6.2 million foreign visitors Bali welcomed in 2019, and less than what some regional competitors have seen. Phuket, Thailand’s resort destination, received over 4 million visitors in the first eight months of this year.

One group of tourists still missing are those from China, who comprised 19% of total foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in 2019, said Ferry Salanto, head of research at Colliers Indonesia. China’s shifting lockdowns have made it difficult for the country’s tourists to travel confidently.

But even the modest increases so far are significant for Bali’s residents and businesses. 

When the pandemic hit, the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa couldn’t afford to keep many of its workers on, said Luh Putu Kestina Ekawati, the resort’s human resources manager. But thanks to the G-20 and other meetings, conferences and events, the hotel has recalled workers and has 300 people employed on a daily basis, she said.  

In the traditional tourist enclaves such as Kuta -- popular with backpackers traveling on tighter budgets -- the damage done by two years of on-and-off lockdowns is still evident in vacant storefronts and restaurants looking to fill tables on a Friday night. It’s a lingering sign of the brutal two years in which the island was isolated. 

Even with the reopening, the average hotel occupancy rate was 43% in the third quarter of this year, down from nearly 70% in the same period of 2019. 

“Bali went from being a great place to invest in, with high returns, to a place with a flash sale” as tourism dried up and unemployment soared, said Will Meyrick, a Scottish restaurateur and investor who has lived on the island for two decades. 

Meyrick reopened his Mama San restaurant two months into the pandemic, catering mostly to local officials and families, with the revenue dedicated to staff who would otherwise have been jobless. But even with the island-wide reopening, many businesses are operating with fewer employees who can take on more responsibilities, he said. 

“People have learned how to run their businesses leaner, more efficiently,” he added. 

In the meantime, the government is also trying to diversify Bali’s economic base. It’s providing incentives for more health tourism, designating a 41-hectare (101 acres) area in Sanur -- a quiet town on the eastern coast -- as a special economic zone to attract world-class hospitals. 

Bali is also offering “second home” visas for five and 10 years to visitors -- targeting professionals, retirees and the wealthy -- with at least 2 billion rupiah ($130,000) in their bank accounts, with the policy to take effect next month. 

“It shows that Bali is trying to diversify its tourism, not just focusing on short-term stays,” the central bank’s Trisno said. “Bali is the best-looking place in the region -- who wouldn’t want to come?”

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