Indonesia to Waive Entry Visa Requirements for 25 Countries

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government is planning to add more countries to its' visa-free travel list, which is slated to be announced soon before it is integrated into the government's preliminary structural economic reform policy - bringing the total to 25 countries.

"We will begin with four countries before gradually increasing it to 25. The majority of European nations will be included in the arrangement, as well as the United States (US)," said the Minister of Tourism, Arief Yahya, after a coordination briefing that aimed to finalise the government's framework for economic reforms in Jakarta on Monday, March 16, 2015.

Arief explained that initially, visa requirements will be waived for four countries - China, South Korea, Russia, and Japan. The Minister explained that the policy is crafted to attract around 10 million foreign tourists into Indonesia in 2015, which will consequently positively impact Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves and Indonesia's services sector.

"Once this policy is implemented, it could boost Indonesia's income by around 15 percent. If we assume that an additional 750,000 tourists come to Indonesia because of the easing of our visa requirements, Indonesia could earn up to US$1 billion from the influx of additional tourists," said Arief.

Previously, Indonesia has waived visa requirements for travellers from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Chile, Morocco, Peru, Vietnam, Ecuador, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

The waiving of visa requirements is a part of the government's effort to boost and improve Indonesia's trade balance and develop its' services sector - which up until today remains a major contributor to Indonesia's income and foreign exchange reserves.

ANTARA