Plan to revoke visa-free facility criticized<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's plan to abolish the visa-free facility given to
\nnationals of certain countries has drawn strong criticism from
\ninvestment and tourism experts, who have said the move would be a
\nsetback to the country's economic recovery process.<\/p>\n
Businessman and chairman of the National Economic Recovery
\nCommittee (KPEN) Sofjan Wanandi said that revocation of the
\nfacility would only hurt relations with important countries like
\nthe U.S., Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which have been major
\nsources of foreign investment and trading partners.<\/p>\n
"The government must have lost its mind," he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
He was referring to an earlier report in this newspaper that
\nthe Directorate General of Immigration had proposed the abolition
\nof the visa-free facility currently extended to citizens of 48
\ncountries, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, Germany, the
\nNetherlands, France, South Korea and Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, the facility would be revoked starting next
\nyear, and would be given to the nationals of 14 countries.<\/p>\n
The visa-free facility, first introduced in 1983 in a bid to
\nattract more foreign tourists, allows foreign visitors to enter
\nthe country without a visa if they stay no longer than two
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
But the immigration office has argued that the facility has
\noften been abused by foreigners who work in the country illegally
\nor conduct other non-tourism-related activities. Another reason
\nis the reciprocity issue, as many Indonesian often face
\ndifficulty in obtaining travel documents from the above
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Sofjan said that the government should not take such a
\nretaliatory measure, particularly at a time when Indonesia is
\nfacing economic difficulties.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Culture and Tourism
\nBoard at the State Ministry of Tourism and Culture Setyanto P.
\nSantosa said that the plan would further discourage foreign
\ntourists from entering the country.<\/p>\n
"The plan is a setback; Indonesia will fade from the
\ninternational tourism map," said Setyanto.<\/p>\n
The plan is currently being discussed with the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs, the State Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the
\nNational Police and the immigration office.<\/p>\n
Setyanto said that other countries in Southeast Asia were
\nracing to provide the facility to boost state income from the
\ntourism sector, and to attract investors.<\/p>\n
In comparison, Malaysia currently grants a visa-free facility
\nto 130 countries, Thailand 150 and Vietnam to all countries for a
\nfive-day stay.<\/p>\n
Tourism experts have said that instead of abolishing
\ncompletely the visa-free facility, the government should instead
\nreduce the length of the permitted visa-free stay from 60 days to
\n30 days.<\/p>",
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