An official from the Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association has proposed that the central government resume the free visa program for travelers from ASEAN countries.
The Head of the Indonesian Hotel and Tourism Association for Bali (PHRI), I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, confirmed that he has proposed that the central government resume the free visa program for all ASEAN countries to revive Bali tourism faster.
Suryawijaya emphasized that the free visa is different from the visa on arrival program that was recently resumed for 42 countries.
“The VoA and the free visa program are two different things. Travelers are still required to pay USD $35 (IDR 500,000) to get the VoA while the free visa program provides access to travelers without payment,” Suryawijaya said on Tuesday (29/3).
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the free visa program was still implemented, Bali received a large number of visitors from the ASEAN countries.
“When the free visa was still being implemented in 2019, Indonesia received over 14 million visitors and 6.3 million of them visited Bali,” Suryawijaya added. He also proposed that the government extend the visa on arrival program to other European Union countries.
If the government implements this program this year, Bali tourism is expected to have a 40 percent increase by the end of 2022 and a full recovery in 2023. With the current implementation of visa on arrival, Bali has reached 25 percent hotel occupancy, up from 15 percent.
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Daniel Fernandes
Friday 1st of April 2022
About 30 years that I visited Bali even when not possível Timor problem I get a special visa to went to Bali. Now with all vacines I can not get a visa on arrival when lasts time Portugueses do not need a visa. I AM waiting for visa on arrival or no visa to return.
Kolohe
Thursday 31st of March 2022
Personally, I prefer they keep the VoA fee and hope they raise it to 1M IDR. It's better to have "Quality" vs "Quantity" visitors arriving. As a native Hawaiian and having a home in both Hawaii and a villa in Bali, I've seen how cheap tourist destroys the beauty and tranquility of paradise. I hope they never bring back the free VoA.
Randy
Saturday 2nd of April 2022
@Kolohe, The low cost airlines will still attract tourists despite your idea of raising the VOA scheme price for tourist arrivals. Like you said it is still better quality rather than quantity.
Jayrod
Friday 1st of April 2022
@Kolohe, There were no 'cheap tourists' there when the visa on arrival system was in place before for many years right lol.
Zeshan Ahmad
Wednesday 30th of March 2022
When you open bali for Pakistani
Jayrod
Wednesday 30th of March 2022
Drop all the covaxtard carry on and everything revolving around that,and i will go back,US$35 visa on arrival fee or not.
fabio corneli
Wednesday 30th of March 2022
I have been coming to Bali for more than a decade, sometimes twice a year. It is incomprehensible to me that AUSTRIA is not one of the countries that are allowed to enter with a visa on arrival. Rather, a guarantor from Bali is required of me, a cumbersome procedure that is also associated with considerable additional costs. Does the Indonesian government suddenly no longer know AUSTRIA?