Govt considers revoking visa-free facility<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Immigration has proposed the
\nabolition of the visa-free facility currently extended to the
\nnationals of 48 countries, a move which tourism experts said
\nwould hurt the already embattled industry.<\/p>\n
According to a draft of the proposal seen by The Jakarta Post
\non Friday, the facility will only be given to nationals of 14
\ncountries, mostly consisting of the ASEAN member countries, while
\ncitizens from 38 other countries, including the U.S., Japan,
\nAustralia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom,
\nTaiwan and South Korea would no longer be entitled to the
\nfacility starting next year.<\/p>\n
ASEAN stands for the Association of South East Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
The visa-free facility, first introduced in 1983, was meant to
\nlure more foreign tourists to the country. Under the scheme,
\nforeign tourists visiting the country for a two-month period are
\nnot required to possess a visa.<\/p>\n
But the immigration office argues that the facility has often
\nbeen abused by foreign visitors to work in the country illegally
\nor conduct other non tourism-related activities.<\/p>\n
Another reason given is the reciprocity issue. Many Indonesian
\ncitizens face difficulties in obtaining visas from countries that
\nhave been enjoying Indonesia's visa-free facility.<\/p>\n
A source at the immigration office said that the privilege
\nshould only be given to countries that were willing to provide
\nthe same facility for Indonesian citizens.<\/p>\n
He added that the plan was currently being discussed with
\nother institutions, including the Ministry of Culture and
\nTourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National
\nPolice.<\/p>\n
To plan is actually not a new one. In late 1999, the
\ngovernment was also considering abolishing the facility arguing
\nthat it had brought about severe negative consequences for the
\ncountry, including increased drug smuggling and a growing number
\nof illegal workers.<\/p>\n
Another source said that the country's intelligence services
\nhad also been demanding that the government abolish the free-visa
\nfacility as it had been misused by members of foreign non-
\ngovernmental organizations visiting the country for political
\npurposes, thus threatening domestic security.<\/p>\n
The country's tourism industry deplored the plan to abolish
\nthe scheme, arguing it would only serve to further damage a
\ntourism sector struggling to recover from the impact of the late
\n1990s twin political and economic crises as well as from the
\neffects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
Meity Robot, president of the central board of the Indonesian
\nTour and Travel Agencies Association (ASITA), said that if the
\nplan was realized it would significantly reduce the number of
\nforeign tourists coming to the country, forcing many travel
\nagencies to shut up shop.<\/p>\n
She said that the country could lose a huge amount of foreign
\nexchange earnings, pointing out that one tourist on average spent
\nUS$1,000 during a 10-day stay here.<\/p>\n
Meity suggested that instead of completely revoking the
\nfacility, the government could instead reduce the length of the
\npermitted visa-free stay from 60 days to 30 days.<\/p>\n
She said that the average length of stay for foreign tourists
\nhere was between 10 and 12 days.<\/p>\n
Meity said that the association had been informed about the
\nplan, and that Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika had
\nsent a letter a week ago informing the association that the
\nministry would propose a reduction in the length of stay instead
\nof completely abolishing the scheme.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is currently lagging behind in attracting foreign
\ntourists compared to neighboring countries like Malaysia and
\nThailand, which in 2001 respectively saw some 12.7 million and
\n10.4 million foreign tourist arrivals.<\/p>\n
By comparison, only 5.1 million foreign tourists visited
\nIndonesia, of which 2 million came from the South East Asian
\ncountries.
\n
\nEyebox<\/p>\n
Countries to be granted visa free facility in 2003<\/p>\n
1. Singapore
\n2. Malaysia
\n3. Thailand
\n4. Philippine
\n5. Brunei Darussalam
\n6. Hongkong S.A.R
\n7. Turkey
\n8. Tanzania
\n9. Peru
\n10. Morocco
\n11. Malta
\n12. Guam
\n13. Fiji
\n14. Chile<\/p>\n
Source: the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of
\nJustice and Human Right<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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