Visa-Free Entry Strengthens Indonesia's Tourism Competitiveness Amid Global Competition
The Ministry of Tourism considers the Visa-Free Visit (BVK) policy a strategic instrument to strengthen Indonesia’s tourism competitiveness. The BVK is not merely a visa policy, but part of an effort to enhance accessibility, ease of travel, and Indonesia’s appeal as a tourist destination amid increasingly tight global competition to attract foreign tourists.
The Ministry views that Indonesia needs to see the BVK within a broader framework, namely as a policy that can directly impact tourist visits, tourist spending, job creation, and the strengthening of the community’s economy. Ease of entry is an important factor influencing tourists’ choice of destination, especially as competing countries in the region continue to strengthen their travel facilitation policies.
According to an official statement from the Ministry of Tourism on Tuesday, 25 June 2026, the BVK is not just a visa facility. It is an instrument of competitiveness, an instrument of growth, and an instrument of job creation. Amid increasingly tight global competition, Indonesia must ensure it does not lag behind in providing travel convenience for foreign tourists. Indonesia actually has experience in implementing the BVK policy broadly. In 2016, Indonesia granted visa-free visit facilities to 169 countries.
A study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Oxford Economics showed that this policy was a successful case study, contributing to a 24 per cent increase in foreign tourist demand and supporting the creation of around 400,000 jobs. Based on a refinement of calculations using actual foreign tourist arrivals in 2018, the impact of the BVK on increasing foreign tourist demand is estimated to be even higher, reaching 32.4 per cent. This figure shows that travel facilitation policies have a strong correlation with the growth of tourist visits.
Furthermore, the WTTC study indicates that visa-free policies have a greater impact compared to several other forms of visa facilitation. The median increase in tourist arrivals from visa-free policies was recorded at 16.6 per cent per year, higher than the 8.1 per cent per year from new visa types. From a regional perspective, Indonesia’s visa policy also needs to be continuously strengthened to be more competitive. A comparison with other ASEAN countries shows that the number of countries granted visa-free access to Indonesia is currently still relatively more limited compared to neighbours such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.