Tourism firms deplore review of visa facility

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)