New visa rule

New visa rule
another burden

I read with bewilderment reports of the recent changes to the
visa regulations for visitors to this country. Previously,
nationals from 48 countries were entitled to obtain a free 60-day
visa on arrival in Indonesia. The new legislation allows
nationals from just 11 countries (those with reciprocal rights) a
30-day tourist visa on arrival in Indonesia. Others may be
entitled to a hefty, US$40 to $45 on-arrival visa that would be
valid only at the place of issuance and the surrounding areas, or
would have to apply for a visa at an embassy overseas.
Furthermore, tourists will not be allowed to extend their visas
and will have to leave the country at least two weeks before they
must apply for a new visa.

At a time when the tourist industry is in dire straights, this
decision, at best, reflects a disregard for those people who are
so desperately attempting to eke out a living from a devastated
industry or, at worst, a failure on the part of the politicians
running this country to formulate an appropriate response to a
crisis situation. I do not begrudge the government the right to
impose tougher visa regulations on tourists, or to charge them
for those visas. Most other countries insist on the same for
Indonesian citizens, after all.

However, now is not the time to impose this new legislation.
It is going to take a lot of very hard work by all those involved
in the tourist industry to convince prospective tourists that
Indonesia is once again a safe and desirable holiday destination.
The new legislation certainly does nothing to assist with this
image when a family of four is faced with an additional charge of
$180.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra is
quoted as saying, "Other countries generate revenue from it (visa
fees), so why don't we?" (The Jakarta Post, April 16). The
Minister apparently misjudges the situation. Very few other
countries have had to deal with the same level of internal and
external disturbance over the past five years. In this respect
Indonesia is unique in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Minister is also quoted as citing internal security
measures for the introduction of the new legislation. Thus,
millions of Indonesians are being made to suffer for the action
of a few foreigners.

Rather than taking a measure that will do nothing to boost
tourism in this country in the immediate future, the government
should be doing its utmost to encourage as many tourists as
possible to come to Indonesia. Instead of effectively restricting
access, the government should be making it easier for tourists to
come here by, for example, issuing free, 90-day, on-arrival
visas. The income generated by longer-stay tourists would far
outweigh that generated by expensive, short-stay visa revenue.

PETER WALBRAN
Jakarta