TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Friday the government would soon issue five-year visas for international tourists. This will effectively allow foreign tourists to apply for work in Indonesia.

“I think they will soon be issued within this month or the following month,” said Luhut in the Bali Investment Forum on March 26. “This is the detail that we are preparing and going to apply.”

Luhut said he believed this move could gain investors' trust and lure them into investing in the country.

Earlier, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno had discussed this long-term visa policy with Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, who then proposed this five-year visa policy.

“They can invest here and can renew their visas every five years,” wrote Sandiaga Uno in a statement on February 9, 2021.

Sandiaga believed such a policy would improve the quality of Indonesia’s tourism as it may affect the number of expenses the tourists spent that would in turn affect the locals' economy. He cited data suggesting that this may encourage visits from one billion potential visitors aged over 60 years old and generate an estimated income of USD1.5 trillion for the state coffer.

Read: Sail Tidore Aims at Attracting Tourists from 100 Nations

HENDARTYO HANGGI