Minister claims that the rise in visa-on-arrival travelers to Bali is responsible.

Sandiaga Uno, the Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, stated to reporters during his weekly news conference in Jakarta that the visa-on-arrival program is assisting in increasing visitor numbers.

The number of tourists visiting Indonesia as a whole, specifically Bali, is directly impacted by the visa-on-arrival regime, Minister Uno said to reporters. In July 2022, 476,970 international tourists visited Indonesia, he said, citing figures. The number is the highest to have been documented since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He revealed that 1.2 million foreign visitors entered Indonesia between January and July 2022, with Bali accounting for the majority of those arrivals.

To demonstrate his confidence in the viability of the visa-on-arrival scheme, Minister Uno provided statistics. He revealed that, as was anticipated for the first full peak season since the pandemic started, visitor numbers surged by 40% from June to July 2022.
Australia was the country with the most foreign visitors, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the United States in that order.

According to figures provided by the BPS (National Statistics Office), Minister Uno acknowledged that 84,600 Australian tourists traveled to Indonesia in just July 2022. a 31% rise from the previous month. Singapore sent 59,800 tourists to Indonesia in July 2022, the second-highest number of any country. 43,600 visitors came from Malaysia, Indonesia's neighbor.

Minister Uno mentioned the volume of tourists going directly to Bali. According to him, Bali received 246,504 foreign visitors in July 2022. With an average of 9,000 visits each day, it is the largest number since the pandemic first started. He acknowledged that I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and Benoa were the primary gateways via which most local and foreign tourists entered Bali.

The 75 nations that are now listed will continue to be subject to the visa-on-arrival program, according to the tourism ministry. He mentioned the Maldives, Monaco, and Colombia that have recently joined. Citizens of 75 countries can purchase an arrival visa for IDR 500,000 (USD 33) at the airport. This 30-day tourist visa can be renewed once for an additional 30-day period.

Minister Uno reaffirmed that ASEAN nationals continue to be able to travel without a visa. The Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are among the nine nations that are now covered under Indonesia's special visa-free program for tourism. Indonesian residents are now able to travel to the other eight countries without a visa thanks to this collaboration.

The governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, released a statement at the same time as Minister Uno's update. The success of the Covid-19 vaccination deployment and the island's tourism resurgence were among the announcements made this week by Governor Koster on behalf of the province administration.

Governor Koster noted that in terms of visitor numbers, Bali is exceeding expectations. By December 2022, it was hoped that the Island of the Gods would have received 40% as many visitors as it did before the pandemic. The island's tourism recovery is on track after data from January to July 2022 showed that numbers are reaching over 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

In order to help the Indonesian tourism industry recover from the pandemic, Minister Uno revealed his goals earlier in the year. By the end of the year, he set the goal of welcoming one million foreign visitors to Bali particularly. Governor Koster reaffirmed that Bali's recovery is on track by confirming that 945,006 foreign visitors have arrived in Bali by September 2.

It is safe to assume that Bali will surpass its tourism goals for 2022 given the presence of international delegations, the G20 Summit in November, the Christmas and New Year holidays, and the attention of the worldwide media. The end of the tunnel for Bali's tourism is in sight after two years of travel restrictions and lockdowns.