28 October – Acting Director General of Immigration, Widodo Ekatjahjana said the reopening of Benoa Harbor in Bali, for cruise ship arrivals and coupled with the opening of the “Immigration on Shipping” service is believed to be able to attract foreign tourists in the premium category.
“The first arrival of the ‘cruise’ after the COVID-19 pandemic brought foreign tourists, I think we have started to improve our services,” he said in a statement related to supervision and monitoring to Benoa Harbor, Denpasar, on Thursday October, 27 2022.
The first cruise ship that docked in Benoa on Thursday is the MV National Geographic Orion from the Bahamas which carries 53 passengers and 66 crew. The ship had previously departed from Sumbawa (NTB) and would continue its journey to Singapore.
Related to the supervision and inspection at Benoa Harbor, it is also to ensure that all immigration facilities and infrastructure are running well. He also added that the reopening of Benoa Harbor for the arrival of cruise ships carrying foreign billionaire tourists is also a momentum to boost the entry of foreign tourists.
“The arrival of the first ‘cruise’ that brings foreign tourists hopefully could widen the entrance of foreign tourists who want to come to Indonesia using cruise ships,” he said.
The Immigration Department invited advocacy groups such as Peruni, Perindo, Jakarta Lloyd, and Ben Line to lure as many tourists and foreign cruise ships as possible to Bali and other destinations in Indonesia.
Furthermore, the immigration facility policies supported the policy between VoA (Visa on Arrival), Second Home Visa, and Immigration on Shipping. In the near future, he said, a stimulant policy in the form of “e-Visa” and “e-VoA” will make it easier for these tourists to obtain a Tourist Visa in Indonesia.
Also read: Immigration has Officially Released Second Home Visa
The VoA tourists are now the mainstay of immigration in depositing tax-exempt government revenues into the state. From January 2022 to October 2022, the VoA income by immigration brought IDR 1.2 trillion to the State Treasury and tax-exempt government income has reached IDR 3 trillion in the last 10 months.
He is optimistic that The Immigration Department can facilitate the improvement of the tourism sector by cooperating with relevant ministries or agencies.
