resume visa free program for asean countries

An official from the Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association suggested that the central government should continue the visa-free program for travelers from ASEAN countries.

Bali Indonesia Hotel and Tourism Association (PHRI) President I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya confirmed that his party had proposed that the central government continue the visa-free program for all ASEAN countries to speed up recovery tourism in Bali.

Suryawijaya gave an example, this visa-free program is different from the visa-on-arrival program which has recently been implemented in 42 countries.

“VoA and visa-free programs are two different things. Tourists still have to pay USD 35 (Rp 500,000) to get the VoA, while the visa-free program allows tourists to access it without paying,” Suryawijaya said on Tuesday (3/29).

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, when the visa-free program was still implemented, Bali received many visits from ASEAN countries.

"When the free visa was still applied in 2019, Indonesia received more than 14 million visitors and 6.3 million of them visited Bali," Suryawijaya added. He also proposed that the government expand the visa-on-arrival program to other European Union countries.

If the government implements this program this year, tourism in Bali is expected to increase by 40% by the end of 2022 and fully recover in 2023. With the current implementation of visa on arrival, the rate of Hotel occupancy in Bali hits 25%, up from 15% previously. . . .