TEMPO.CO, Pontianak - In a bid to boost tourism, the Indonesian government will continue to offer free visa for citizens from 30 countries visiting Indonesia.

“Currently, free-visa travel requirements have been waived for 15 countries. More will come in the future,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Arief Yahya said in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, at the “Karnaval Khatulistiwa” event on Saturday, August 22, 2015.

Arief revealed that Malaysia had waived the visa requirements for more than 160 countries, and Thailand had offered free-visa travel for 56 countries.

Therefore, Arief added, the government would continue to boost tourism potentials in Indonesia. The “Karnaval Katulistiwa” event, held in Pontianak, was expected to become a momentum to develop regional tourism.

Arief added that Taiwan and China were among countries with huge market potential for Indonesian Tourism. Next year, the government will offer free visa for 30 more countries under Presidential Regulation No. 69/2015.

The presidential regulation states that foreigners from certain countries will be provided with free visa for traveling purposes. In addition, the foreigners will be allowed to enter Indonesia through certain immigration checkpoints at airports and harbors.

ASEANTY PAHLEVI