Minister of Tourism again criticized visa policy<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika reiterated his
\nstrong opposition to the government's plan to implement a
\nstricter visa policy next month, saying it would badly hurt the
\ncountry's tourism industry.<\/p>\n
Ardika insisted that the policy should be reconsidered as the
\ncountry's tourism industry still needed support to fully recover
\nfrom the impacts of the terrorist attacks in Bali and the JW
\nMarriot hotel in Jakarta and the outbreak of Severe Acute
\nRespiratory Syndrome (SARS).<\/p>\n
\"There has been a significant decrease in the number of
\ntourist arrivals,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying during a
\nceremony in Bali on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Foreign tourist arrivals were down 14.2 percent to 305,500 in
\nNovember 2003, from 356,075 in October, but up 27.42 percent
\nyear-on-year, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
The government has been planning to scrap its longtime policy
\nof free 60-day visits for tourists from dozens of countries,
\nreplacing it with a more bureaucratic and expensive policy,
\nwherein tourists will need to apply for a visa and pay US$25. The
\nwhole process may be done on arrival, but will still be time-
\nconsuming and more expensive than tourists are used to paying
\nnow.<\/p>\n
The new policy has been planned for several months, but
\ndelayed several times. Minister of Justice and Human Rights, the
\noriginator of the policy, said on Friday that the government
\nwould implement it next month.<\/p>\n
Under the Presidential Decree No. 103\/2003 dated Dec. 17,
\n2003, Indonesia will give free visas to tourists from just 11
\ncountries, compared to 48 countries previously.<\/p>\n
The countries, which will still be able to enter the country
\nat no cost are Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darrusalam,
\nthe Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco, Peru and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
The countries which will lose their free facilities, but still
\nbe able to apply for a 30-day visa include South Africa,
\nArgentina, Denmark, The United Arab Emirates, Italy, Canada,
\nPoland, South Korea, New Zealand, France, the United States,
\nBritain, Australia, Japan, German, Hungary, Norway, Switzerland,
\nTaiwan, Brazil and Finland.<\/p>\n
The new policy also cuts the length of stay in Indonesia for
\nshort-term visitors from 60 days to 30 days.<\/p>\n
Tourists will also have an option to pay just US$10 for a
\nthree-day visit and a maximum of $25 for 30-day visit.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-of-tourism-again-criticized-visa-policy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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