Free Visas for Aussie tourists more detriment than benefit

Smoke

ah a day late as usual :icon_wink:

Markit

Almost sounds like Indo was hoping for a reciprocal agreement with visa freedom for Indonesians going to Oz part of the pudding. As we all know Oz is bursting full already so that aint gonna happen is it?

Smoke

I think that was part of the original agreement

Rangi

[quote="Markit, post: 102051"] As we all know Oz is bursting full already so that aint gonna happen is it?[/QUOTE] They still have heaps of room as far as I can see

Markit

Lets see Oz has a total land mass of about 7.6 million sq kilometers and Indo has 1.9 so if my maths haven't given up completely that would mean that little Indonesia would fit almost exactly 4 times into the Oz land area. Yep Oz can't let them orientals come into the promised land without visas. Who knows they might all stay and invite all their Malay friends and their Thai buddies along with them the Burmese and Cambodians. Course you would have some decent food in Oz then too. None of this hamburgers with eggs or red beet on it or Vegemite blah!

davita

Thare are about 2.5 million more people living in Jakarta's burbs than live in the whole of Australia. Also, the population of Sydney, Australia's largest city, is about equal to Bali. I remember flying over Australia's Northern Territory (NT) and it being described as the GAFA (Great Australian F**k-All)...:highly_amused:

balinews

JAKARTA. The plan to waive the visa requirement for visitors from Australia, previously aimed at attracting more foreign tourists, has been dropped amid concerns surrounding repeated turbulence over Jakarta-Canberra diplomatic ties. The government had only proceeded with the visa-free policies for Chinese, Russian, South Korean and Japanese tourists, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo said on Thursday. “We have confirmed the visa-free policy for Japanese citizens. Russia and South Korea will follow suit soon. For China, we have three months to finalize everything,” he said. Tourists from these countries can currently visit Indonesia with a visa on arrival. Indroyono assured that the counterpart countries would provide similar facilities to Indonesians. According to him, Japan was already in the process of passing a visa-waiver policy for Indonesian e-passport holders traveling to Japan for fewer than 15 days. China was also working on a similar policy. “Russia and South Korea have also been principally okay,” he said. The minister confirmed that the plan to provide similar services for Australians had been dropped but declined to explain the reason behind the move. “For Australians, the visa on arrival is enough,” Indroyono said. Australia, which contributes about 10 percent of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia, has had many ups and downs in its relationship with Indonesia. A high-ranking ministry official said that political reasons were behind the decision to exclude Australia from the new visa policy. “Giving free visas to Australians may bring more detriment than benefit. Besides, Bali would still be their favorite destination anyway. I don’t think a visa on arrival fee of around US$35 would be a burden for any Australian tourist,” the official said. RI Drops Oz From Visa-free Policy - Kontan Online

Markit

Markit wroteAlmost sounds like Indo was hoping for a reciprocal agreement with visa freedom for Indonesians going to Oz part of the pudding. As we all know Oz is bursting full already so that aint gonna happen is it?

I am, sometimes, occasionally, once in a great while, correct. Not often, but still... Basking in that warm glow of sobriety until noon.

Smoke

Markit wrote Basking in that warm glow of sobriety until noon.

Why such a late start ?

Markit

Now 1:30 and half bagged so Smoke giving the standard to live up to... I should have started earlier.

Smoke

Markit in all your years of living in Bali don't you know Bintang is the breakfast of Champions. Always nice to start the day off with an Icy cold one at least A nice JW ends the evening pretty good also !:icon_wink:

Markit

Markit wroteAlmost sounds like Indo was hoping for a reciprocal agreement with visa freedom for Indonesians going to Oz part of the pudding. As we all know Oz is bursting full already so that aint gonna happen is it?

Chest stuck way-the-feck out there: Bali News: Seeking Reciprocation - Fair Dinkum?

Adam

Ha! The Tourism Minister must have been getting into Schapelle's stash if he ever expected he'd get a reciprocal agreement. No big surprises really.