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By Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNA
A proposal to give Taiwanese visa-free access has been submitted to the Indonesian Directorate-General of Immigration for approval, Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said yesterday.
Sandiaga yesterday met with foreign reporters to explain Indonesia’s “golden visa” and “second home visa” programs.
He is scheduled to leave his post tomorrow before the inauguration of Prabowo Subianto as Indonesian president on Monday and the transition to a new government.
Photo: Bloomberg
He also said there are investment opportunities in several special tourism economic zones in Indonesia, adding that he hoped foreign companies would invest in different cities across the country.
Although the Indonesian government reiterated it would consider providing visa-exempt entry for 20 regions and countries — including Taiwan — Taiwan was not included on the visa exemption list announced last month.
“It is unsatisfactory that the Indonesian government only approved visa-free entry for 13 regions and countries,” while Malaysia and Thailand have already granted visa exemption for many countries, he told reporters.
The Indonesian Directorate-General of Immigration “reviews the list of visa-free countries every three months,” he said, adding that the agency would become a non-ministerial department under the new Cabinet.
Sandiaga said he expects “the visa exemption program to be developed to include China and Taiwan, as well as the top 20 countries visiting Indonesia, such as Australia, India, the US and European countries.”
The immigration agency has the authority to approve visa-free countries, and would make final decisions based on interagency discussion, he added.
Visa exemption is one of the key strategic policies to boost tourism in Indonesia, he said, citing the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index as showing that Indonesia ranked 22 globally this year.
“The visa programs are crucial for Indonesia to make it to the top 10 in the index,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government would take part in an international travel fair in Taiwan next year, with two charter flights per week operating between airports in Taipei and in Banyuwangi from the beginning of the Lunar New Year, he said.
“As the Ijen volcano complex and Mount Bromo have become very popular among Taiwanese and Chinese tourists, the direct flights from Taipei to Banyuwangi are expected to attract more tourists from Taiwan and China to Indonesia,” he said.
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