Visa on arrival for Holland and Sweden

Visa on arrival for Holland and Sweden

In one of Bali's local newspapers it was reported that the
government has turned down two countries, namely The Netherlands
and Sweden, to be granted visa on arrival, among the other
countries that have been proposed by the Minister of Culture and
Tourism to the government.

Bali has relied on tourism for its economy and Bali bombings
were a big blow to the island's tourism industry. Tourists
arrivals plummeted drastically and many tourist businesses hardly
survived.

The regulation issued by the government to revoke visa-free
entry for many countries and replacing it with a visa-on-arrival
policy has made the situation go from bad to worse.

Holland and Sweden are lucrative tourism markets for Bali,
particularly for northern Bali. Singaraja, the capital city of
Buleleng regency (North Bali), used to be the center of the Dutch
colonial administration. There are many Dutch legacies left in
this regency. Hence, there is a historical relationship between
Holland and Bali, and North Bali in particular. It is an
undeniable fact that a lot of Dutch tourists visit northern Bali
due to this historical relationship. The government gave no clear
reasons as to why Holland and Sweden were excluded from the new
visa-on-arrival policy.

I hope that the government will reconsider its visa policy,
putting aside political issues (if any) and focussing on efforts
to improve people's welfare through the great potential of the
tourism sector.

NYOMAN SUWELA, Singaraja, Bali