JAKARTA- Foreign arrivals to Indonesia in September hit their highest level since the start of the pandemic, official data showed on Tuesday, as more visitors returned to resort destinations like Bali after an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
There were about 538,300 arrivals in September, up from only 5,000 in the same month a year ago, with the majority going to Bali, said Setianto, deputy head of Statistics Indonesia.
Arrivals in September were slightly ahead of the previous month’s figure of 510,200.
For the January-Sept period, Indonesia saw 2.27 million visitors compared with 86,245 in the same period last year, when travel restrictions to curb COVID-19 were in place.
However, arrivals remained far below the pre-pandemic levels in the same periods of 2018 and 2019, when Indonesia had nearly 10 million foreign visitors.
Indonesia is trying to attract more so-called “digital nomads” to its tropical shores by offering a more flexible visa, the country’s tourism minister said, in a move welcomed by the tourism industry on the resort island of Bali.
In recent years, some Asian holiday destinations have seen an influx of digital nomads, or long-stay visitors from overseas who combine travel and recreation with remote working.
Tourism Minster Sandiaga Uno said in a post on his Instagram account that digital nomads could now visit Indonesia and work for up to six months using a social-cultural visa.
“I am increasingly convinced the number of foreign tourists who are interested in staying in Indonesia will increase and will automatically have an impact on economic revival,” he said.
Employment under this category of visa has not previously been permitted and Indonesia is yet to outline how it could tax digital nomads, but the plan has been positively received by the Bali tourism board. — Reuters
