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