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THE MINISTRY of Tourism and Creative Economy stated that the government would update the list of countries allowed to enter Indonesia (RI), responding to the new variant of COVID-19, namely Omicron.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno in a statement at the Weekly Press Briefing, Jakarta, Monday (11/29) said that the variant is said to have entered the territory of Hong Kong and Belgium, so that the government will prioritize the health and safety of the Indonesian people so that the number of cases will not be repeated like July 2021.
“Regarding whether Indonesia will update the list of countries, for this the government will evaluate the opening of tours for foreign tourists on a regular basis which will be coordinated by the Kemenkomarves (Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Health,” said Sandiaga Uno.
As is known, the government through the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has again changed the duration of quarantine for Foreign Citizens and Indonesian Citizens who come from abroad, from three days to seven days.
“This is done as an effort to spread the Omicron variant found on the South African continent with a very fast spread rate. We hope that this new variant will not spread to Indonesia in the midst of the tourism sector which is on the way to recovery,” said Sandiaga.
Based on the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in September 2021, it reached 126.5 thousand visits or decreased by 15.08% compared to the number of visits in September 2020.
“However, when compared to August 2021, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in September 2021 has increased by 1.41%. Starting from January to September 2021, the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia reached 1.19 million visits.
He added that of the 126.5 thousand foreign tourist visits in September 2021, the most came from Timor Leste with 72.9 thousand visits (57.7%) and Malaysia with 39.8 thousand visits (31.5%). In general they are border crossers. [traveltext.id/photo special]
