JakartaPost-Feb 28
Indonesia is losing out as many international tourists opted to travel to other Southeast Asian countries, partly because of visa requirements, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said on Monday. “We’ve seen that countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have been very proactive in granting visa-free visits,” Sandiaga said at his ministry’s weekly press briefing. India was also a case in point, he said, noting that it granted Indonesian tourists visa-free entry. Meanwhile, Indonesia was still unable to provide visa exemptions for foreign tourists, even though it espoused visa reciprocity, the minister explained. “Our principle is reciprocity [but] until now, we haven’t provided any [visas] reciprocally, because [the process] is still undergoing assessment [over a request] we submitted more than three months ago,” Sandiaga lamented. Moreover, Indonesia is losing foreign tourists to its neighbors due to limited connectivity across the vast archipelago, he continued, referring to constraints in airline routes and seat capacity for traveling between different parts of the country. But despite these obstacles, he revealed that Indonesia had attracted 11.7 million foreign visitors last year. Sandiaga expressed optimism in early February, when he projected this figure would increase to 14.3 million this year or even 17 million under a more positive scenario, Kompas reported. The majority of foreign visitors to Indonesia in December came from Australia, China, East Timor, Malaysia and Singapore, according to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). Sandiaga said last Thursday that the government was considering hosting more concerts and sporting events to entice local and international tourists. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2024/02/28/indonesia-losing-out-on-foreign-tourists-to-its-neighbors-sandiaga.html.
