Tag: indonesia tourism

Hard luck for tourists planning Bali trip

The Indonesian island of Bali has bowed to the inevitable and will remain closed to foreign tourists until the end of 2020. For months, local government officials have insisted Bali would reopen to overseas tourists on September 11. It began allowing domestic tourists to visit on July 31, Sydney Morning Herald has reported. Earlier this month the Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan had supported the reopening, though he subsequently back-tracked. Bali’s economy is heavily reliant on foreign tourists and has been smashed by the coronavirus pandemic with hotel occupancy rates dropping by up to 95%. The decision to keep ... Read more

Bali looks set to reopen to international tourists

Bali, Indonesia’s famous holiday island, is set to reopen to international tourists in September. Bali had officially reopened to domestic tourists on July 31, as part of its three-step plan to resume travel activities. As outlined by Bali governor Wayan Koster in July, the provincial government is expected to re-evaluate the plan on opening the border for international tourists “by the end of August” for an  opening date of September 11. These plans have been given a further shot-in-the-arm following comments by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. During an address to the Jakarta Foreign ... Read more

Domestic tourism picking up in Bali

Domestic tourists are trickling back to Bali with authorities recording a gradual increase in arrivals at Ngurah Rai International Airport as the island reopens its doors to domestic tourism. In a ceremony to mark the official reopening, 84 passengers flying Garuda Indonesia from Jakarta received garlands from Bali’s Vice-Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, popularly known as Cok Ace, on Friday morning. They were the first of approximately 4,000 domestic tourists to arrive on the island that day, Coconut.co reports. Airport management firm Angkasa Pura I spokesman Rahmat Adil Indrawan said on Saturday that there was a gradual increase of ... Read more

Indonesia sets up travel corridor with UAE

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has announced that a travel corridor arrangement has been set up with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate essential business trips, which included official and diplomatic visits. The minister said Indonesia proposed the agreement after consulting with related government bodies, as well as their counterparts in the UAE, Jakarta Post reports. “Indonesia and the UAE signed an agreement on an essential business travel corridor. The agreement is effective immediately,” Retno said. The travel corridor agreement, she added, was strictly for essential business travel such as businesspeople and diplomats, but not for tourists. The agreement ... Read more

Indonesia proposes 100% income tax exemption for tourism sector

Indonesian tourism minister Wishnutama Kusubandio has proposed a full exemption from corporate income tax for all firms in the tourist and creative economy sectors, as well as the provision of additional working capital loans, to aid the hard-hit industry during the global health crisis. Wishnutama said he was currently in talks with Finance Minister Mulyani Indrawati regarding the proposal. The tourist sector is currently eligible for a 30% discount on corporate income tax to cushion the COVID-19 pandemic impact, according to a Jakarta Post report. “We have proposed an additional tax cut of PPh Article 25 [corporate income tax] from ... Read more

Indonesia bowls a ‘googly’ to Australian travellers

Thousands of Australians have been left in travel limbo in Bali after Indonesia announced that it will end emergency stay visas handed to foreigners at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Immigration has announced that the temporary visas many Australians have been using to stay on the island while the pandemic passes will end in just 30 days, Channel 9 News has reported. After that period, all foreigners without an authorised visa will need to leave Indonesia, unless there are no flights available to return to their home countries. That could mean the 3000 Australians tourists currently in Bali on emergency visas ... Read more

Bali to welcome domestic tourists from July 31

Bali’s provincial government has announced plans to open the island to tourism for domestic Indonesian tourists from July 31. The plan will be executed as long as Bali’s reopening scheme for local residents, starting July 9, runs effectively. Tourist attractions will be selectively opened to avoid new sources of virus transmission, says Indonesia Expat in a report. The Indonesian island of Bali where 70% of the population depend on tourism, has seen extensive jobs losses since closing its borders in April. The economic impact so far has been greater than that of the Bali bombings of 2002, with losses of around 9.7 trillion ... Read more

India, Indonesia, Philippines are likely to be the laggards in tourism recovery: ANZ Research

The tourism sectors of India, Indonesia and the Philippines are likely to be the laggards among countries trying to revive the travel industry, a report released by ANZ Research has said. Since most countries are now past the worst of their Covid-19 outbreak, restrictions on travel are being eased and appetite for travel would gradually return, the report said. But in the three aforementioned countries, the number of active coronavirus cases continue to rise, making recovery difficult. Tourism in the region is entering the recovery phase, but the pace of this recovery [would] depend on the evolution of the pandemic ... Read more

Ritz Carlton Bali launches exclusive offer to welcome guests back

One of the world’s most luxurious properties, The Ritz Carlton Bali, has launched an exclusive offer to be booked before June 15, 2020 for stays until May 31, 2021. Priced from IDR2,750,000 including tax and service per room per night, this special offer includes accommodation in a Sawangan Junior Suite with extensive daily buffet breakfast for two at the Senses restaurant. Guests are also given a daily resort credit of IDR500,000 which can be used towards further indulgences such as room upgrades, dining or spa treatments. Located on pristine white sandy beaches of Nusa Dua, guests at the property can ... Read more

Indonesian tourism aims to surpass Thailand in 5 years

Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya says growth in the Indonesian tourist industry may excel that of Thailand within the next five years. “We can beat ‘Amazing Thailand’ and ‘Malaysia Truly Asia within about five years’,” said Arief in a discussion at the State Secretariat in Jakarta. “In 2014, Indonesia ranked 70th in the world tourist Industry, but leaped to the 20th spot in 2017,” he added. Indonesia has hosted around 14 million foreign tourists in 2017, adding to the state revenue around USD 15.2 billion; while Thailand had 35 million foreign tourists in the same year with total revenue of ... Read more

Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry join hands with MakeMyTrip

The Ministry of Tourism of Republic of Indonesia (MoTRI) has signed a strategic agreement with MakeMyTrip to promote Indonesian Tourism in India. Under this partnership, MakeMyTrip and MoTRI will actively run campaigns across MakeMyTrip platforms to endorse tourism to Bali, Jakarta and other regions in Indonesia. MakeMyTrip will launch a 360-degree online campaign on its platforms, external websites and social media to promote tourism to Indonesia. Through this association MakeMyTrip will aim to tap additional footfall of Indian tourists in Indonesia, this year. “We greatly look forward to working with the Ministry of Tourism of Republic of Indonesia to build ... Read more

Asian Games mascot makes an island popular in Indonesia

Bawean deers Bawean Island is becoming popular among tourists after one of its endemic species, the bawean deer (Axis kuhlii), was made mascot for the 2018 Asian Games. The name of the bawean deer mascot in the Asian Games 2018 is Atung. Since 2009, bawean dears are in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list of endangered animals. Atung- Asian Games 2018 Mascot The island is situated in the Java Sea about 120 kilo meters north of Gresik, Indonesia.  Other than the island is famous for its beautiful landscapes as well as art and culture. Recently, the ... Read more

Indonesia to tap tourism to tackle current account deficit

Bali, Indonesia Indonesian President Joko Widodo has vowed to handle Indonesia’s current account deficit, which has been rocketing these years. Currently the deficit is about US$25 billion. The President stated that by enhancing the revenue from tourism and reducing the overall fuel imports by increasing the use of indigenous biodiesel. The President has met Indonesian industrialists on Tuesday, 28th August 2018 to discuss global economic volatilities that are affecting the emerging markets, including Indonesia. He also discussed with them government’s strategies to deal with these risks. “People were worried about the impact of the trade conflicts between China and United ... Read more

Indonesia eyes French tourists in boosting tourism

As a way to bring in major growth in tourism sector, Indonesia is eyeing France, a major force in European tourist market by associating with French travel organizers. Deputy Tourism Minister Nia Niscava, who also oversees the marketing growth in Europe, said the association with local French travel agents and organizers will definitely result in the increase of French tourists to the country. The ongoing talk with the French travel agencies and organizers have already resulted in surveying places and accommodations in Bali from July to August by them to bring in considerable number of French tourists to the much ... Read more

Indonesia terrorist attacks: 12 countries issue travel advisories

Twelve countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, have issued travel advisories for their citizens in Indonesia following recent terrorist attacks in Surabaya and Sidoarjo in East Java. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that issuing travel advisories was a country’s responsibility to alert its citizens. “Travel advisories meant a country was still safe to visit, explaining that there were three levels of alerts, namely travel advisory, travel warning and travel ban,” he said. He also explained that several countries issued travel warnings last year amid Mount Agung’s eruption in Karangasem, Bali, with island seeing a loss of ... Read more