'Controversial new visa policy will kill tourism'<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Nusa Dua<\/p>\n
The new controversial visa policy will hurt the tourism industry
\nas citizens of countries enjoying visa-on-arrival will have to
\nobtain the facility for different destinations.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said
\non Tuesday that visas-on-arrival would be valid only in the place
\nof issuance and the surrounding areas. The facility could be
\napplied for in all international airports and seaports<\/p>\n
"Visitors will only be allowed to enter certain parts of the
\ncountry where the visa-on-arrival is issued and will have to
\nrepeat the process if they visit other places here," Yusril told
\na media conference held to reveal details of the visa policy,
\nwhich was adopted through a presidential decree on March 31.<\/p>\n
The visa-on-arrival is not extendible and only valid for 30
\ndays. A visitor may only reapply for the facility after they
\nleave the country for two weeks, Yusril said.<\/p>\n
The minister indicated the government expected to generate
\nrevenue from the charges.<\/p>\n
"It's a big revenue source. Other countries generate revenue
\nfrom it, so why don't we?" he said, saying the government would
\nuse the money to promote domestic tourism abroad as well as to
\nimprove immigration services.<\/p>\n
Yusril said a visitor may be charged between US$40 and US$45
\nfor a visa-on-arrival.<\/p>\n
Visa-on-arrival facilities will be awarded to some of the 38
\nforeign countries currently scrapped from the list of visa-free
\nfor short visit recipients and those who contribute much to
\nIndonesia's tourist industry.<\/p>\n
The presidential decree on the new visa policy maintains
\nThailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the
\nPhilippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco, Turkey and Peru
\nbased on a reciprocity basis.<\/p>\n
Yusril said people of countries that had lost the visa-free
\nprivilege would either have to apply for one at an Indonesian
\nembassy or buy one upon arrival.<\/p>\n
The new visa policy, he said, emulates the immigration
\nregulations imposed by the Hong Kong administration for "internal
\nsecurity considerations".<\/p>\n
"We have found some foreign activists who support separatist
\nmovements here used visa-free entry for short visits here,"
\nYusril said.<\/p>\n
Yusril was referring to two foreign women who recently stood
\ntrial for visa offenses in the war-torn province of Aceh. They
\nwere jailed and deported after they were found guilty.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, is currently formulating guidelines
\nto implement the presidential decree that revokes the visa-free
\nentry for short visits for citizens from 38 countries.<\/p>\n
"We will apply the decree as soon as we complete the
\nguidelines, which must be discussed with other cabinet members
\nbeforehand," Yusril said.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear how soon the new ruling will take effect,
\nalthough the presidential decree clearly stipulates the policy
\ncame into effect when it was signed.<\/p>\n
In the absence of the guidelines, the government still imposes
\nthe old policy, permitting tourists from 49 countries to visit
\nfor an extendible period of up to 60 days without a visa.<\/p>\n
Separately, several tourism associations voiced strong
\nopposition to the implementation of the decree, and demanded its
\nimmediate retraction or postponement.<\/p>\n
They said that those countries were never viewed as prime
\ntourism markets by the Indonesian tourism industry.<\/p>\n
"We have formed a lobby group tasked with persuading and
\nconvincing the House of the Representatives and the central
\ngovernment to revise, postpone, or if possible revoke the decree
\naltogether," Bali's Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI)
\nchairman I Gde Wiratha said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Wiratha is attending a three-day informal coordination meeting
\non the decree. Representatives from at least 11 associations
\nparticipated, including PHRI, the Association of Indonesian
\nTravel Agents (ASITA), the Association of Water Sports Operators
\n(Gahawisri), the Tourism Society of Indonesia (MPI) and the
\nSociety of Indonesian Professional Convention Organizers (SIPCO).<\/p>\n
Wiratha said the policy would hamper the country's tourism
\nindustry as it was implemented at an inappropriate time,
\nreferring to the fact that the industry was still reeling from
\nthe impact of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Bali, the war
\nin Iraq and the spread of SARS.<\/p>\n
However, an expert on tourism economics, Nyoman Erawan, said
\nit would not result in a significant drop in the number of
\nforeign tourists as the current market was different than the
\nmarket in the 1980s, when the visa-free system was introduced.<\/p>\n
"Now we are dealing with the market that is basically very
\nquality-oriented and definitely well-informed on the condition of
\nany destination. In this case, the quality of services provided
\nby the destination will play a more important role in securing
\nthe market than the visa-free entry privilege," he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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