On new visa<\/p>\n
As a fairly frequent business traveler to Indonesia I now find
\nmyself postponing trips for one simple reason: The newly
\nintroduced visa requirements. The thought of having to queue for
\nages on arrival, or having to apply at the embassy prior to my
\nvisit is just too inconvenient -- except in the most urgent of
\ncases. I know European friends who have canceled holidays to your
\ncountry for the same reason, and I shall be staying in Malaysia
\nover the Labor Day weekend rather than having to face an hour at
\nDenpasar (with a baby) filling in forms.<\/p>\n
Whoever introduced this policy has not thought it through
\nproperly. As well as annoying the business traveler and
\nholidaymaker this measure will also hit the backpacking tourist,
\nmany of whom used to spend the full 60 days permitted traveling
\nfrom island to island, spending something in the region of US$20
\nper day.<\/p>\n
Okay, so it is not $200 a night in Bali but it is quite a lot
\nto the losmen and food-stall owners in Flores or Sulawesi, for
\nexample, and these travellers will be put off by both the
\ninconvenience and the visa fee, plus the fact that the maximum
\nstay has been halved to 30 days.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has to compete hard for the tourist and business
\ndollar, especially with the latest sad events in Ambon dominating
\nthe news.<\/p>\n
JAMES HAY
\nKuala Lumpur<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/on-new-visa-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}