On new visa

On new visa

As a fairly frequent business traveler to Indonesia I now find
myself postponing trips for one simple reason: The newly
introduced visa requirements. The thought of having to queue for
ages on arrival, or having to apply at the embassy prior to my
visit is just too inconvenient -- except in the most urgent of
cases. I know European friends who have canceled holidays to your
country for the same reason, and I shall be staying in Malaysia
over the Labor Day weekend rather than having to face an hour at
Denpasar (with a baby) filling in forms.

Whoever introduced this policy has not thought it through
properly. As well as annoying the business traveler and
holidaymaker this measure will also hit the backpacking tourist,
many of whom used to spend the full 60 days permitted traveling
from island to island, spending something in the region of US$20
per day.

Okay, so it is not $200 a night in Bali but it is quite a lot
to the losmen and food-stall owners in Flores or Sulawesi, for
example, and these travellers will be put off by both the
inconvenience and the visa fee, plus the fact that the maximum
stay has been halved to 30 days.

Indonesia has to compete hard for the tourist and business
dollar, especially with the latest sad events in Ambon dominating
the news.

JAMES HAY
Kuala Lumpur