More and more travelers are expected to pay a visit to Bali as the Island of the Gods has officially recognized a total of 42 nationalities to be eligible for visa on arrival (VOA) entry, a minister said.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno in a statement yesterday confirmed the addition of travelers from 19 countries on the list, which previously comprised 23 nationalities.
“According to an instruction from the President (Joko Widodo), the expansion of the visa on arrival list, as well as a quarantine-free policy, should be done quickly,” he said, adding that a circular outlining the new policy should be available today.
Related – No quarantine required to enter Indonesia: Tourism Minister
As previously reported, travelers from Australia, the US, Netherlands, Brunei, Philippines, the UK, Italy, Japan, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, France, Qatar, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, are eligible to enter Bali with a VOA.
The new VOA list now includes passport holders of the following countries: South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, India, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Seychelles, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Tunisia.
Last week, the Bali Tourism Agency proposed for Russian and Ukrainian passport holders to be included as well, but as of now they are not on the list.
Despite the VOA list expansion, Sandiaga said that the government is tampering expectations for a massive and immediate revival of Bali’s tourism industry this year. The minister said the government is expecting 1.8 to 3.6 million international visitors to Bali this year – unchanged from the target it announced previously.
“We haven’t revised it. We’re still waiting for [safety protocols] relaxation and the pandemic management,” he said while adding that he is nonetheless “optimistic” that the actual number of tourists can exceed expectations.
