Confusing new visa policy
Confusing new visa policy
Over the last months, the Ministry for Tourism and Culture
invested substantial amounts of money on international television
as well as four-page full-color ads in the International Herald
Tribune in order to promote Indonesia as a tourist destination.
At the same time however, the government for rather ill-
defined reasons of "reciprocity and mutual benefit" decided to
abolish its visa-on-arrival facilities for a yet unknown number
of countries starting Dec. 1, 2003.
Incredibly enough and with only a few more weeks to go until
the onset of the peak tourist season in December, the government
has so far not only failed to announce which countries are to be
affected by its new visa policy but also to issue details
regarding its implementation.
Illogically enough and for unfathomable reasons, visa-on-
arrival facilities for eight European Union countries are to be
terminated whereas those of the remaining EU member countries
would be maintained.
In spite of its far-reaching consequences for Indonesia's
tourist industry, the issue surprisingly failed to attract any
significant media interest and until now, neither foreign embassy
staff nor travel agencies are in a position to shed light on the
subject.
In the absence of visa-on-arrival facilities, visitors from
affected countries would have to undergo cumbersome visa
application procedures prior to their departure and it is
anybody's guess how many of these would opt for more welcoming
and hassle-free tourist destinations instead!
The visa-on-arrival policy has worked perfectly well over the
past years and no tangible benefits, if any, could be achieved by
its discontinuation.
The introduction of "visa-on-arrival fees" would be a far more
sensible solution and also justified by the fact that most
foreign embassies in Jakarta are charging Indonesian applicants
"visa processing fees" in the first place.
With the Dec. 1 deadline now approaching fast, the
government's new visa policy urgently needs to be clarified if
further confusion and damages to the country's tourist industry
are to be avoided.
JOSEPH LOUIS SPARTZ
Jakarta