On Thursday, Indonesia witnessed nearly 4,77,000 foreign visitors in July. This is considered one of the highest tourist arrivals in a month as compared to the basis that Covid-19 decimated the global travel industry.
While it was the highest since February 2020, the number was still far below pre-pandemic levels despite a 38% increase from the previous month. Head of Statistic Indonesia Margo Yuwono from Indonesia said in a press conference, “This is good news because these tourists will provide a multiplier effect for the economy”.
A total of 1.22 million foreign visitors visited the Southeast Asian country from January to the end of July, compared with 79,500 in 2021, when broad travel restrictions were in place. During the pre-pandemic months of January-July of 2018 and 2019, Indonesia received about 7 million foreign tourists.
This was made possible as the Indonesian Government has reopened its Visa Exemption Services for tourism and governmental visits. Due to covid-19 pandemic, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in The Hague cannot issue the regular visa and opted for the E-visa applications that are required to submit through an Indonesian sponsor to the Directorate General of Immigration.
