Visa violations will not impact Indonesia’s visa-free policy
Thursday, 02 Jan, 2017
0
Indonesia has insisted its free visa policy will remain in place despite reports of a growing number of tourists overstaying.
Law and human rights minister Yasonna Laoly said the free-visa policy is an essential part of Indonesia’s tourism strategy.
"What’s important with regard to the free-visa policy is monitoring. If there are 9 million foreign tourists entering Indonesia, [we should ensure] that the same number of people are leaving," Yasonna said.
The country now offers visa-free entry to nationals of 174 countries.
The law and human rights ministry said it is developing an app to keep tabs on the movements of foreign visitors which it hopes will curb overstaying and find illegal foreign workers.
It comes after rumours circulated in the media of up to 10 million Chinese nationals working illegally in the country.
This has been denied by the government.
The app will track movements via a barcode placed in the passport on arrival and will be scanned every time a tourist buys transport tickets within and when leaving the country.
"We have a list of overstayers, so we can just look at our data. [With the app] it will be easier for us to track their movements," Yasonna said.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026