The Bali Tourism Association will formally request the government to expand its Visa-on-Arrival program to 198 recognized countries to boost tourism.
The scheme was reinstated when border crossings reopened in February 2022. On April 28, 2022, the government added another 17 countries to the list, bringing the total number of countries to sixty.
The move meant that Indonesia made available its program to the same number of countries as before the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of today, the program is available for citizens from South Africa, United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Philippines, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, South Korea, Croatia, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, France, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, New Zealand, Seychelles, Singapore, Cyrus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, China, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Vietnam, and Greece.
Prior to the VoA reintroduction, it was difficult to find foreign visitors on the streets or on the beach. In fact, these vacationers were so unusual that they really stood out in the crowd.
According to local reports, the Bali Tourism Board believes that extending visa requirements to 198 countries would accelerate the revival of Bali’s tourism sector and, by extension, the national economy.
It is not an easy task to get everything back on track, but the Balinese are working on several fronts to do so.
With 30,000 daily visitors during and after the Eid Al-Fitr festival, the island believed that this was the key turning point for the steady increase in tourist arrivals.
However, visitor numbers have declined after hotel occupancy rates increased by 60 percent.
The visa on arrival costs only IDR 500,000 ($35), is valid for 30 days, and can be renewed once within Bali.
Expanding the program to the 198 nations would help Bali’s tourism sector recover faster and position the island as a very attractive international destination.