Indonesia and World Tourism News

Visit Indonesia

The one important thing missing from your editorial on tourism (Dec. 28) was any mention of visas. Although you quite rightly said that Indonesia has much more to offer than Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, we fail miserably in attracting tourists.

The present visa system is very bad and urgently needs rethinking. Until about three years ago it was okay, with most tourists able to enter the country without a visa, simply getting a travel pass stamped in their passport on arrival that was valid for a 60-day stay at no charge and with no waiting.

But then the rules were tightened, requiring a visa to be obtained either before travel or on arrival, which was valid for 30 days only and was not extendible. These visas cost US$30. This move, aside from restricting the amount of time tourists can stay in the country, has caused intolerable delays at entry points into the country, resulting in less visitors.

On the other hand, our nearest neighbors and our strongest competitors (Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) do not require tourists to apply for visas. These countries welcome tourists with open arms, whereas Indonesia makes it very difficult indeed.

This is probably a major reason why tourist numbers in these countries are several times higher than tourist numbers in Indonesia. In Indonesia, tourist numbers have not increased significantly over the last five years. From this it is obvious we are competing on a very uneven playing field and the rules have to be changed.

There is no doubt the present visa system has been a disaster. In addition to the negative aspects mentioned above, the amount of money collected from the system is trifling compared to the amount lost through tourists cutting their holidays short or deciding not to come at all.

The sooner we can return to the old system the better for the future of tourism in Indonesia. No matter how much money is spent on promoting tourism in Indonesia, there will be little improvement until these changes are made. Such changes would almost certainly bring huge benefits to the country.

WALTER JAMIESON
Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara

Source: The Jakarta Post

Add comment January 8th, 2008

International flights to resume to Indonesia’s Yogyakarta: official

JAKARTA (AFP) — International flights are set to resume to and from the Indonesian ancient cultural city of Yogyakarta as Southeast Asia’s largest economy seeks to boost tourism, an official said Friday.
The head of Yogyakarta’s tourism office, Tazbir, said that flights from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur would be served by Malaysian Airlines and Air Asia, with return trips flown three or four times a week each.

“We are relaunching flights as a part of Visit Indonesia 2008,” he told AFP, referring to the country’s new tourism campaign.

The national flag carrier Garuda stopped flying to the city on Java island at the end of 2005 due to a lack of aircraft, shortly before the city and surrounds were hit by an earthquake that killed 6,000 people.

Indonesia, which has endured a series of terror bombings, natural disasters and health scares, recorded a 2.38 percent drop in foreign tourist arrivals to four million in 2006.

Arrivals jumped 14 percent in the first 11 months of 2007.

About 150,000 of those arrivals were to Yogyakarta, the usual launchpad for tourists visiting the ancient Buddhist temples of Borobudur and the Hindu temples at Prambanan, Tazbir said.

“With international direct flights, we hope to raise the arrival of international tourists by 30 percent this year,” he said.

Malaysian Airlines will begin flying on January 30 while Malaysian budget carrier Air Asia will start its flights two days later, he added.

In March last year, a Garuda jet on a domestic flight burst into flames on landing in Yogyakarta, killing 21 people.

Source: http://afp.google.com/

Add comment January 8th, 2008