Bali’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.63 percent after more than 105,000 jobs were lost in August, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported, as the pandemic continues to batter the tourism industry.

Here’s a story we love, for obvious reasons. In an extremely coconutty initiative amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a tourism academy in Bali is allowing its students to pay for tuition with ⁠— you guessed it ⁠— coconuts.

Bali and the Nusa Tenggara islands are the hardest hit regions in Indonesia amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s statistics agency said, as Indonesia officially fell into its first recession since the Asian financial crisis more than 20 years ago.

Police in Bali arrested a 25-year-old UK national this week for allegedly owing IDR3.7 million (US$257) to a hotel in Kuta.

The suspect, identified as SJD, reportedly stayed at the hotel between July 21 and Aug.

With tourists expected to flock to West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) next year to attend the MotoGP motorcycle race (if the health situation allows), the Indonesian government announced this week that it will further develop tourist destinations in the province, a project that also covers nearly 800 villages.