Visa-free policy hoped to bring 25 billion USD to Indonesia's tourism industry

Jakarta - Indonesia's tourism sector could potentially generate up to 25 billion USD in additional revenue through the implementation of a visa-free entry policy for foreigners, according to Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno.

Sandiaga said the Indonesian government intends to extend this policy to visitors from 20 countries and territories with the objective of boosting tourist arrivals and driving economic growth via the tourism sector.

This policy excludes nine fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which already benefitted from similar provisions under regional economic integration.

Indonesia targets revenue of 200 trillion IDR (12.9 billion USD) from the tourism industry in 2024.

Sandiaga said that each tourist from eligible countries will spend at least 5,000 USD during their stay in Indonesia.

The policy primarily targets countries whose tourists tend to spend more time and money in Indonesia, he added.

In September, the Indonesian Justice Ministry initiated the implementation of the "golden visa" for international visitors, offering stay permits of up to 10 years based on their investment amounts in the country.

At least 13 people were killed and 46 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday in an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant, the owner of the industrial park that hosts the facility said.

Indonesia’ meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency announced that a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit off the country's western province of Banten in on January 3 morning, yet did not trigger a tsunami.

Three people were killed and at least 28 injured when two trains collided on Indonesia's main island of Java on Friday, officials said.