Indonesia to extend visa on arrival for more countries

www.chinaview.cn 2007-04-14 14:42

JAKARTA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is ready to extend the visa on arrival facility to 11 more countries in a bid to boost revenues from tourism industry, local press said Saturday.

English daily The Jakarta Post said a senior official with the Foreign Affairs Ministry had named the 11 countries likely to receive visa on arrival facilities, including Algeria, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Tunisia.

Several foreign envoys welcomed reports of Indonesia s decision to extend the visa on arrival facility, which is currently available to the citizens of 52 countries and regions.

The main purpose of the extension is to boost tourist arrival numbers, which dropped by 2.61 percent to 4.87 million in 2006 from 5 million in 2005, according to local media reports.

The visa on arrival was first introduced on Feb. 21, 2004.

Under the system, tourists from selected countries do not have to apply out of the country for visas but can instead purchase them on arrival at Indonesia's international airports and seaports.