60 days too long?

A spokesman for the Directorate of Immigration recently stated that 60 days was too long for a tourist visa, and that the average length of stay of foreign tourists was only 12 days.

This may be true, but there are many budget travelers who would remain longer in Indonesia if they could as they wish to travel throughout the archipelago. These budget travelers may not contribute vast amounts to the foreign exchange income received from tourism, but they make a valuable financial contribution to local economies. Budget travelers normally stay at losmen and bungalows which provide jobs and income for local people.

I recently spent Christmas and New Year's in Cikembulan, near Pangandaran, West Java, where the decline in the number of budget travelers to the area over the past two years, due to security concerns raised by the economic and political crisis, has had a serious effect on employment and income. No doubt other areas have been similarly affected.

Reducing the number of days available for a tourist visit would only further deter foreign tourists from visiting, creating more hardship for local people who have come to depend on this income.

DENISE HILL

Bandung