ASITA PROPOSES E-VISA SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN TOURISTS

Jakarta, Feb 1 (ANTARA) - The Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agents (Asita), Jakarta chapter, has proposed the application of an electronic visa or e-visa system to facilitate foreign tourists visiting Indonesia.

"We are in the cyber era at present, and therefore it is time for us to start applying an e-visa system," chairman of Asita's Jakarta chapter Joungki Adiyasa said here on Monday.

According to him, an e-visa system as was already being used in Cambodia would facilitate foreign tourists in obtaining immigration documents and be very effective.

Therefore, he was of the opinion that it was time for Indonesia to create a sophisticated and transparent immigration bureaucracy.

Adiyasa also expressed pessimism that the implementation of the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) service starting on February 1, 2010 would be able to increase foreign tourist visits to Indonesia.

"VoA is really to facilitate foreign tourists but it does not guarantee an increase in their number," Adiyasa said.

He said the Visa-on-Arrival policy was not something new in Indonesia, because some 20 years ago Indonesia flag carrier Garuda Indonesia already cooperated with various parties to implement it.

"VoA management is not something new because an in-flight immigration service has been in existence for the past 20 years," Adiyasa said.

Besides, he said, the effort to jack up the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia was not merely through the implementation of VoA, because the tourism sector had its own complexity that should be supported by other sectors.

Meanwhile, Culture and Tourism Ministry's marketing director I Gde Pitana said recently that a VoA try-out for Japanese tourists had had a positive result.

Pitana said VoA was very effective to improve tourism services in Indonesia.

"The tourists just remain in their respective seats on the airplane and the visa service will be given from seat to seat and processed in about 15 minutes, and it is very good for our image," he said.

He said the VoA service was designed for foreigners coming to Indonesia for holidaying , social, business or official visits.