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Bali to extend visa on arrival to China, India
The plan is hoped to boost foreign tourist arrivals to the island province.
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Travelers walk through the international arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban near Denpasar, Bali, on Feb. 16, 2022, after a Singapore Airlines flight arrived following a nearly two-year break due to COVID-19. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
The government plans to extend the visa on arrival (VoA) to Bali program to Chinese and Indian nationals, among others, to boost foreign tourist arrivals.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said on Monday the plan had been mutually agreed upon in a limited Cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta earlier that day.
“[The tourism ministry] proposed to add several countries to the VoA list, including China and India, and it has been approved during the limited meeting today,” said Sandiaga during a weekly press briefing on Monday. “Hopefully the [updated] list will be officially announced soon.”
Indonesia launched the VoA to Bali program on March 7 for holidaymakers flying in from 23 countries, including the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and all Southeast Asian nations in a bid to spur foreign tourist arrivals. It also revoked the obligation to have a sponsor for a tourist e-visa request.
Under previous rules, tourists had to find a sponsor for a visitor visa, which cost around Rp 3.5 million (US$329). The new visa will cost just Rp 500,000.
The program was launched as air carriers including Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines and Australia's Jetstar resume international direct flights to Bali after the island province's international reopening in October last year.
China and India were among the biggest source countries of foreign tourist arrivals to Bali before the pandemic.
