Thread: Visa on arrival to be extended

I read an article in yesterday's Arab News that the VOA is going to be extended. This mentioned two things of importance. One that it was going to be between 1-3 months and Two that they were trying to get Arabs to come to Bali to make up for the shortfall in tourists since the bombings in October.

If they do extend it to 3 months that will be great. Without being in any way racist do you think the courting of Arabs to come to Bali will make it easier for SOME radical terrorists to enter or not.

Or do you think there is most to fear from home grown radicals. Please note that any replies should not be on a racist theme because none is intended.

My opinion is that it makes it easier because of the ease with which visa's can be obtained. I agree that home grown terrorists can come any time but with the introduction of extended VOA to the Arabian peninsula terrorists from there can enter less difficulty. Even if it is just to spread the message under another guise.

But again I might be just reading more into than exists and that it will improve tourism. Instead of the Australians in Kuta they will have Arabs instead :-)

If the article that Jimbo's referring to is the one below, it's rather confusing. The article quotes VP Jusuf Kalla with "...the government would extend the permitted length of stay from the current two weeks to between one and three months". :shock: :?:

As far as I'm aware, the VOA has never applied for two week periods. Is this the case for other countries? :?

The entire article from Jakarta Post.

Govt to expand 'VOA' facility to boost tourism
Business and Investment - March 21, 2006
Rendi Akhmad Witular, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The government is planning to expand the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility to help reverse the declining number of tourist arrivals in Indonesia, which dropped dramatically in the wake of the Oct. 1 terrorist attacks on the resort island of Bali.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla told players in the tourism sector here Monday that the government would extend the permitted length of stay from the current two weeks to between one and three months.

"A two-week stay is not enough for tourists. We will extend this period in order to attract more visitors to Bali and other tourist destinations around the country," he said.

At present, there are 34 countries that have been granted the VOA facility. The government introduced the new scheme in 2004 after it revoked the visa-free facility for nationals from 48 countries.

After last year's suicide bombings, tourist arrivals plunged to an average of 2,600 per day in January and February, and 2,950 in March, compared to 5,500 in September 2005.

Kalla, a businessman turned politician, told his audience, which included Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, to focus on attracting more tourists from the Middle East following a decline in the number of tourists from traditional markets such as Japan and Australia.

"We should start focusing on tourists from the Arab world. We should start publishing holiday brochures in Arabic as well as teaching more tourist guides the language," he said, adding that China and Taiwan also represented prospective markets.

The government has set a target of 5.5 million foreign tourists and revenues of around US$5.4 billion this year, up from around 5 million tourists last year giving rise to revenue of some $4.9 billion.

Aside from expanding the VOA facility, the government would also provide around Rp 67 billion ($7.28 million) this year for promoting Bali abroad. The government recently announced another $5 million for this purpose.

During the meeting with Kalla, the Bali businesspeople urged the government to help settle disputes between provincial, regency and municipality administrations over the management of tourist sites.

"There are so many overlapping regulations issued by local administrations that discourage investment in the tourism sector in Bali. We would prefer the provincial administration to be given the sole responsibility to manage the industry here," said one businessman.

Kalla said the government would also expand the capacity of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar to accommodate new generation Airbus and Boeing aircraft, which require longer runways.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterday ... 060321.M01

Thanks Roy, but that site also requires an update since the Swedes were granted VOA status last week. Our Swedish friends will be very happy. :)

Swedes offered visa on arrival
National News - March 23, 2006

JAKARTA: Swedish visitors to the country can now get visas on arrival, a move which observers say highlights the improved relations between the two countries after Jakarta signed a peace deal last year with Acehnese rebels.

Many Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders were given exile in Sweden before the truce in Helsinki was signed by the government and GAM on Aug. 15.

Indonesia reopened its diplomatic mission in Stockholm after the deal. Earlier, the government had accused Sweden of protecting exiled GAM leaders by granting them Swedish citizenship.

The visa-on-arrival policy was made effective on March 15. "It has been issued to boost tourist numbers and cooperation efforts between the two countries," immigration office spokesman Soepriatna Anwar said Wednesday.

Sweden joins 36 countries eligible for the visas. --JP

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterday ... 060323.C06

I remember hearing that there is another shorter VOA available for a lesser price.

Maybe this is the two weeks that they referred to in the article.

Hi Mimpi,

From the site Roy posted:

There are two types of Visa.
1. The 7-day Visa on Arrival. It costs US$ 10.00 per person.
2. The 30-day Visa on Arrival. It costs US$ 25.00 per person.

It seems either Jusuf Kalla got it wrong or Jakarta Post quoted him incorrectly.