We expect that the attempts can encourage the recovery of the national economy and tourism industry.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Law and Human Rights Ministry recorded a significant increase in the number of international travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali Province, and Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Banten Province, after the implementation of no-quarantine policy.

"According to the data from the immigration checkpoint at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, the number of international travelers arriving in Bali on March 13-24, 2022 reached 7,317,," Sub Coordinator of Public Relations Department of the Directorate General of Immigration at the ministry Achmad Nur Saleh informed in a statement received here on Saturday.

He continued that the highest number of overseas visitors coming to Indonesia via the airport was recorded at 1,060 on March 19, 2022,.

"In addition to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, the number of foreign tourists traveling to Indonesia via Soekarno-Hatta Airport also increased after the implementation of no-quarantine policy," he said.

As of March 25, 2022, the total number of international travelers arriving at Soekarno-Hatta Airport was 2,470 .

The official noted that initially the no-quarantine policy was a pilot regulation applied to international tourists entering the country through I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport starting on March 7, 2022.

Furthermore, the government also provides visa-on-arrival (VoA) service at the airport to overseas travelers from a number of countries.

During the March 13-24, 2022 period, VoA facilities were issued to 3,611 international tourists in Bali. The number was almost a half of the total number of tourist arrivals during the period.

Apart from Indonesian citizens, the international travelers were also mostly Australian citizens. It was recorded that more than 200 Australians arrived at the airport per day.

Saleh has ensured that the conveniences provided to the international travelers are implemented according to the evaluation of the pilot application of the policy.

"We expect that the attempts can encourage the recovery of the national economy and tourism industry," he remarked.

According to the Circular Letter of the COVID-19 Task Force Number 15 of 2022, overseas visitors who have received the second and third doses of vaccination do not need to have any quarantine if their COVID-19 RT PCR tests are negative.

Meanwhile, if the visitors have not been vaccinated or have only received the first dose of vaccination, they must undergo quarantine for five days.

Related news: Foreign tourist arrivals in Jakarta see rapid spike
Related news: Gov't extends visa on arrival for travelers from 42 countries

Translator: Muhammad Zulfikar, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022