Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government plans to exempt tourist visas for 47 countries after its visa policy initially granted the exemption to only 45 countries.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said on Tuesday that with this change, the number of visa-free facility recipients had risen to 92 countries.
"At first, we had proposed 50 additional countries, but there are some countries that have problems, such as illegal drug trade, instability and radicalism. There are five countries that have been struck off from the list of visa-free recipients," he stated.
Ramli added that 45 countries plus two others, namely the Vatican and San Marino, have been included in the facility.
According to him, the visa-free facility is the fastest way to increase the number of tourists visiting Indonesia.
Evaluation of the first phase of the visa-free travelers' policy for 30 countries showed that the number of foreign tourist visits had jumped by 15 percent, much higher than the earlier phase, where they rose by only 4 percent.
"The evaluation results of the first phase of this policy have been very positive," Ramli stated.
He said the government will implement additional visa-free facilities for 47 countries in October, which will be considered effective as it coincides with the year-end holiday season.
"At first, we had thought of making the visa-free policy effective from January next year, but could not wait any longer, so it will now be effective in October," he said.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the government expects foreign tourist growth of up to 20 percent during the first and second phase of implementation of the visa-free policy.
"We expect one to two million tourists a year, which will reflect a 20 percent growth in our target," he said.
The government hopes that the first and second phase of implementation of the visa-free facilities for 77 countries will boost the number of tourist visits by 60 percent.
"The visa-free policy for these 30 countries was just implemented two months ago and the number of tourists has grown by 15 percent. We believe that by the end of this year, the number of foreign tourists will grow by 20 percent," Yahya added.
Earlier in June, the government had officially exempted 30 countries from visas, after which 15 more countries were included in the ambit of the visa-free facility.
The policy was adopted to boost the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia, which is expected to touch 20 million by 2019. (WDY)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2015
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said on Tuesday that with this change, the number of visa-free facility recipients had risen to 92 countries.
"At first, we had proposed 50 additional countries, but there are some countries that have problems, such as illegal drug trade, instability and radicalism. There are five countries that have been struck off from the list of visa-free recipients," he stated.
Ramli added that 45 countries plus two others, namely the Vatican and San Marino, have been included in the facility.
According to him, the visa-free facility is the fastest way to increase the number of tourists visiting Indonesia.
Evaluation of the first phase of the visa-free travelers' policy for 30 countries showed that the number of foreign tourist visits had jumped by 15 percent, much higher than the earlier phase, where they rose by only 4 percent.
"The evaluation results of the first phase of this policy have been very positive," Ramli stated.
He said the government will implement additional visa-free facilities for 47 countries in October, which will be considered effective as it coincides with the year-end holiday season.
"At first, we had thought of making the visa-free policy effective from January next year, but could not wait any longer, so it will now be effective in October," he said.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the government expects foreign tourist growth of up to 20 percent during the first and second phase of implementation of the visa-free policy.
"We expect one to two million tourists a year, which will reflect a 20 percent growth in our target," he said.
The government hopes that the first and second phase of implementation of the visa-free facilities for 77 countries will boost the number of tourist visits by 60 percent.
"The visa-free policy for these 30 countries was just implemented two months ago and the number of tourists has grown by 15 percent. We believe that by the end of this year, the number of foreign tourists will grow by 20 percent," Yahya added.
Earlier in June, the government had officially exempted 30 countries from visas, after which 15 more countries were included in the ambit of the visa-free facility.
The policy was adopted to boost the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia, which is expected to touch 20 million by 2019. (WDY)
Editor : I Gusti Bagus Widyantara
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2015