Tourism firms deplore review of visa facility
JAKARTA (JP): Executives of tourism-related companies expressed concern on Tuesday over the government's plan to scrap its visa on arrival facility currently given to nationals of 48 countries.
The tourism executives said that the lifting of the facility would bring another blow to the already battered tourism industry.
Chairman of the Indonesia Inbound Tour Operators Club Arievaldy Kumarga said he saw no reason for the government to remove the facility.
He said lifting it would only kill the impetus of recovery in tourism-related sectors, which had in the last two months reported some improvement.
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto said on Monday the government was considering a review of the free visa facility.
Wiranto said it had brought about a severe negative effect but he did not elaborate.
Spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration Mursanuddin A. Ghani said on Tuesday the free visa facility, introduced in 1983 in a bid to lure foreign tourists, had been widely abused.
He said the increase in drug smuggling activities and the number of illegal workers in the country were partly due to the facility.
The executives of the tourism-related businesses appealed to the government not to completely withdraw the facility but to shorten the length of stay for the designated nationals.
"Don't lift it altogether. It would be better, for example, to reduce the duration of stay, especially for countries which do not contribute much to tourist arrivals in Indonesia," Arievaldy told The Jakarta Post.
He said the free visa facility had definitely helped Indonesia to lure foreign tourists as they could visit the country at any time without being bothered by bureaucratic procedures when applying for a visa at Indonesian embassies overseas.
Arievaldy said the government should at least involve people in the tourism industry in any plan to review policies which could affect tourism.
Secretary general of the Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants Rianto Nurhadi also criticized the plan, accusing the government of inappropriately citing security concerns as an excuse to review the facility.
"The government unfairly uses security concerns as an excuse to make it difficult for visitors to enter the country, like they did with Chinese visitors. You can't assume that every Chinese citizen will only bring harm and that they should not be allowed to come here," he told the Post.
"I agree that security is very important, but there should be better and fairer treatment regarding tourism. Removing the facility is totally a setback," he added.
Visitors utilizing the facility can only enter Indonesia from certain airports or harbors, including those located in Medan in North Sumatra, Dumai and Batam in Riau, Bandung in West Java, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya in East Java, Denpasar in Bali and Biak in Irian Jaya.
Mursanuddin said the government would likely reduce the length of stay the facility allows instead of wiping it out altogether.
"In our opinion, 60 days is too long for a tourist visit. The average length of stay of foreign tourists is only 12 days," he said.
Indonesia expects to receive 3.9 million foreign visitors this year, up from 3.51 million last year.
The government estimates the number will reach six million people next year, given the promising trends in the tourism industry in the last three months. (cst)