Visa-on-arrival for UAE-Mena tourists as Jakarta ends curbs

Visa-on-arrival for UAE-Mena tourists as Jakarta ends curbs

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Indonesia has de-regulated its Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related travel restrictions and 72 nationalities, including four from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), may now avail of tourist visas upon arrival.

International and domestic tourists to the world’s largest archipelago of over 17,000 islands, lying on the so-called Ring of Fire and between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean also need not worry, since 11,986 tourism establishments, including restaurants and shops across 34 provinces, have so far been certified, through the “Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability” programme of Jakarta’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE), implemented beginning November 2020.

These were from separate interviews with Indonesian Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates Candra Negara and MoTCE-Middle East Representative Nour Aridi on Wednesday morning, when the Diplomatic Ladies Group of Dubai as well as Emirati social influencers were treated to traditional Indonesian fare and the Balinese massage, part of cultural diplomacy and the re-introduction of Bali Province as a prime tourism destination.

“The Indonesian Government has opened up its borders to all foreign visitors as long as they have taken vaccines against COVID-19. The travel situation is almost normal. We have been continually receiving enquiries regarding (holiday) and