China approves Indonesia as tourist destination
China approves Indonesia as tourist destination
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Republic of China has included
Indonesia as one of its official tourist destinations for
citizens, Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika said here
on Wednesday.
The minister said that, with the new status, Indonesia had
become one of several tourist destinations recommended by the
Chinese government to its citizens.
"With issuance of the approval there will be no obstacle for
Chinese tourists to come here," Ardika said during a meeting with
business people from the tourism industry.
The minister said that China's decision was made after the
Indonesian government removed all barriers which previously
hampered Chinese tourists.
According to the minister, the Indonesian government had eased
restrictions imposed on Chinese citizens obtaining visa permits
from the Indonesian embassy in Shanghai as part of the criteria
that Indonesia had to meet before being included as one of the
country's official tourist destinations.
Ardika said that Chinese citizens could now obtain their visa
permits in one day, at a cost of US$35.
"I've checked it out, and I found that there is no protracted
procedure and additional charges any more," Ardika said.
Ardika said that the relaxation of immigration procedures
would not cause an influx of Chinese immigrants into Indonesia as
many people feared.
The minister said that the Indonesian government had received
a guarantee that the Chinese tourists would return to China
before their visas expired.
To ensure that the Chinese will not abuse their visa, the
Chinese government will only allow its citizens to travel to
Indonesia in tour groups which are organized by one of 65
authorized agents.
The 65 Chinese travel agents are responsible for the arrival
and departure of their clients and are subject to legal penalties
if proven irresponsible. They will be partnered with Indonesian
travel agents certified by a board of supervisors, soon to be
established by the government and the Association of Indonesian
Tour and Travel Agencies (Asita).
The Indonesian government eased the strict immigration
regulations imposed on Chinese citizens following the visit of
President Abdurrahman Wahid to China late last year.
"We hope through that measure we can lure a bigger portion of
the 10.3 million Chinese tourists expected to travel out of China
this year," Ardika said.
However, the minister warned that Indonesia had to be
realistic as the necessary systems required to service so many
Chinese tourists had yet to be established.
"If Indonesia welcomes a great number of Chinese tourists
into the country without proper preparations, they might have a
bad time here and not want to come back," Ardika said.
Mandarin-speaking personnel in the tourism industry, of which
there is a lack, is one of the key ingredients in making Chinese
tourists comfortable, he said.
"We have asked for the assistance of the Chinese government to
create language competency standards for our personnel," Ardika
said.
That's a great amount of homework for the Indonesian
government to do, and the tourism industry in particular, he
concluded. (03)