Easier Access for Sea Tourism
Minister Ardika Announces New Measures to Encourage Sea Tourism.
(6/9/2002) The National Maritime Council has agreed to simplify the permit process for foreign nationals who wish to bring yachts into the Country.
The Minister for Culture and Tourism, Mr. I Gede Ardika, in announcing the sweeping changes pointed out that the problem of simplifying the permit process for visiting yachtsmen currently involves a substantial number of departments and branches of the Government. The Minister explained "the National Maritime Council has agreed to simplify entry permits for foreign tourists wishing to undertake sea voyages in Indonesia. The problem will now be dealt with by the Council as the coordinating body and no longer by each of the individual departments and government agencies."
The sweeping changes are due, in part, to calls made by the Association of Indonesian Sea Tourism Companies (GAHAWISRI) who asked the Government to pursue a National Open Sea Policy in order to stimulate yacht tourism to the country. Under the current system visiting ships confront a myriad of bureaucratic obstacles that have to be surmounted in order to bring a foreign flagged ship into Indonesian waters. These steps include, among others, obtaining security and territorial clearances from the Armed Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs; port clearances; complex customs clearance and tax regulations; and immigration clearances.
Under the new policy, the permit process is expected to be handled by one agency of the Government coordinated under single roof by the National Maritime Council.
The Minister for Culture and Tourism, Mr. I Gede Ardika, in announcing the sweeping changes pointed out that the problem of simplifying the permit process for visiting yachtsmen currently involves a substantial number of departments and branches of the Government. The Minister explained "the National Maritime Council has agreed to simplify entry permits for foreign tourists wishing to undertake sea voyages in Indonesia. The problem will now be dealt with by the Council as the coordinating body and no longer by each of the individual departments and government agencies."
The sweeping changes are due, in part, to calls made by the Association of Indonesian Sea Tourism Companies (GAHAWISRI) who asked the Government to pursue a National Open Sea Policy in order to stimulate yacht tourism to the country. Under the current system visiting ships confront a myriad of bureaucratic obstacles that have to be surmounted in order to bring a foreign flagged ship into Indonesian waters. These steps include, among others, obtaining security and territorial clearances from the Armed Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs; port clearances; complex customs clearance and tax regulations; and immigration clearances.
Under the new policy, the permit process is expected to be handled by one agency of the Government coordinated under single roof by the National Maritime Council.
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