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Indonesia losing out on foreign tourists to its neighbors: Sandiaga
At his weekly briefing on Monday, the tourism minister said Indonesia was losing foreign tourists and foreign exchange earnings from tourism expenditures, in part because of the country's lack of visa exemptions as well as major international events, such as Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
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Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno speaks at a press briefing in Central Jakarta in this undated handout photo from the tourism ministry. (Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry/-)
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ndonesia was 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 was 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.
