JERO WACIK OPENS IMMIGRATION-ON-BOARD SERVICE

Denpasar, Feb 1 (ANTARA) - Tourism minister Jero Wacik officially started the operation of the "Immigration on Board" service at Ngurah Rai airport in Bali on Monday.

"The operation of the service is expected to be able to cut lines at the Visa on Arrival counter so that foreign tourists would feel more comfortable. I hope in the future I can expand the service for Korea, China and Australia destinations," he said.

He said the service was the latest breakthrough in improving service to foreign tourists and it would ease their arrival in the country because they should not have to stand in line at the airport.

"Tourists have so far complained about the Visa-On-Arrival service which could take hours. If their immigration process could be completed on board they certainly could directly leave for hotels upon arrival," he said.

The Immigration on Board service is now still limited to Garuda flights from Narita, Japan. It is hoped it could be expanded to other countries as well.

"The facility will make tourists eager to come to Indonesia," he said.

The commerce director of Garuda Indonesia, Agus Priyanto, said the national airline company would continue to support the government's program for increasing tourist arrivals.

"This is Garuda's step to help ease foreign tourists' arrival in Indonesia," he said.

Regarding the minister's plan to expand the service to cover tourists from other countries he said "we have been ready to implement the Immigration on Board program for tourists from other countries soon the immigration and banks are ready."
The head of Bali tourism service, Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu, hoped the effort would increase the number of tourists from a number of Bali's main tourism markets such as Australia, China and Korea.

Australian tourists to Bali in 2009 reached 20 percent of the total number of foreign tourists, followed by Japanese tourists (14 percent), Chinese (9 percent) and Korea (six percent).

Malaysian tourists ranked four in number after the Chinese but they have a free-visa facility for a short visit.