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THE POLICY taken by the Indonesian government in enforcing quarantine-free foreign travelers (PPLN) to Bali, Batam, and Bintan and later expanded to 7 entrances in Indonesia, has had a positive impact on the level of foreign tourist arrivals.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, the impact was also strengthened by the special tourist Visa On Arrival (VOA) service provided by the government to PPLN from 42 countries to Bali as well as Batam and Bintan.
“This is a policy that is right on target, has the right benefits, and is timely. And Alhamdulillah it did not trigger an increase in COVID-19 cases,” said Sandiaga Uno in the “Weekly Press Briefing” which was held in a hybrid manner from the Sapta Pesona Building, Monday (3/28).
The government itself plans to expand VOA facilities to several other entry points in Indonesia. Such as Medan Kualanamu Airport, Soekarno-Hatta Tangerang-Banten, Juanda Surabaya, Sultan Hasanuddin Makassar and Sam Ratulangi Manado.
However, Minsiter Sandiaga ensured that the plan would be carried out in stages by looking at the existing data. Especially in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently improving and the implementation of strict and disciplined health protocols is also increasing.
“We see that the number of foreign tourist arrivals is increasing and the expansion of visa on arrival will be gradual and sustainable. Of course, this is a new optimism, the momentum for our economic revival and can open up business opportunities and employment opportunities,” Sandiaga stated.
Meanwhile, the Deputy for Strategic Policy at the Ministry of Tourism, Nia Niscaya, explained that the ease of entering the territory of Indonesia did have a big impact on the level of foreign tourist arrivals.
Currently, Nia said, the largest users of VOA services specifically for tourism are foreign tourists from countries such as Australia, Singapore, the United States, France and England. So, you could say that based on data before the pandemic, they were countries whose spending was above average.
Revision of Tourist Visiting Targets
Although currently the level of foreign tourist arrivals has shown an increase, Menparekraf Sandiaga Uno emphasized that there is no plan to revise the target of foreign tourist visits throughout 2022.
Previously Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf targeted the level of foreign tourists visiting this year between 1.8 million-3.6 million foreign tourists. Meanwhile, for domestic tourists, the Ministry of Tourism is targeting up to 500 million movements/trips.
“As of today, there has been no revision, but we continue to monitor it in detail. In the middle of the year, we will conduct a coordination meeting, we will make revisions if it is deemed necessary,” said Sandiaga.
“What is our focus right now is the creation of situations and conditions in which we will rise. We are also preparing regulations, policies that are appropriate, have the right benefits, and are timely. When revisions can be made, it must be ensured that the revisions are achievable and sustainable,” Sandiaga concluded. [traveltext.id]
