JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has lifted its quarantine requirement for all arrivals from abroad, its tourism minister said on Monday, responding to improvements in its containment of coronavirus
The decision, effective immediately, follows the successful implementation of a quarantine agreement this month for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19 in the islands of Bali, Batam and Bintan, said Minister Sandigaga Uno at a news conference.
“With the handling of the pandemic more controlled … today we announce that the policy of no quarantine has been extended over Indonesia,” Sandiaga said, adding a negative COVID test would still be required.
The despair follows similar movements from Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and more recently Malaysia, as the countries try to rebuild travel sectors that have collapsed under strict restrictions.
Sandiaga said detailed regulations could be published on Tuesday.
A visa-on-arrival policy is in force in Bali covering 42 countries, with a waiver for visitors from Southeast Asian nations. It was not immediately clear whether these rules apply to Bali.
A senior minister said last week that the visa-on-arrival would be extended to include the capital Jakarta and Surabaya.
About 143,700 foreign tourists came to Indonesia in January, up 13.6% from a year earlier, although the number was well below pre-pandemic levels, which were typically over 1 million each month.
Sandigaga said the government had not yet revised its target of 1.8 million to 3.6 million visitors this year, but said he was “quite optimistic that it will be a surprise”.
(Report by Stanley Widianto; Edited by Martin Petty)
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