CANGGUWEEKLY
No.326/05May-12May2023
ThedeclineinthenumberofRussiantourists comingtoBaliisaconcernfortheisland's tourismindustry.Balihasbeenapopular destinationforRussiantourists,withmany comingtotheislandtoescapetheharsh winterweatherintheirhomecountry.In2022, BalisawasurgeinRussiantouristsfollowing itsreopening,ayearthatsawanestimated 58,000Russianarrivalsontheisland.
arrivingontheislandeveryday.
TheHeadoftheBalioffceofBPS,Endang RetnoSriSubiyandani,wasquotedas sayingbyAntaranewsagencyearlierthis weekthatthenumberofSingaporean citizensarrivingrecordedthesharpest increaseinMarchwith21,003visitors,an increaseof69.41percentcomparedto February.
Itseemslikethehoneymoonphasebetween RussiaandBalihasbeguntocooloffasthe country’scitizensslipoutofthetop5listof visitorstotheIslandofGods.Accordingto theCentralStatisticsAgency(BPS), Russiancitizenswereamongthetop3 nationalitiesofforeignerscomingtothe islandfromJanuarytoFebruaryofthisyear. However,inMarch,thetop5werecitizens fromAustralia,India,Singapore,U.K.,and theU.S.
Russia,ontheotherhand,wasplaced secondbehindAustraliainJanuarywith 22,104touristsarrivinginBali.Thenumber declinedto17,338peopleinFebruarybut Russiastillplaced3rd,accordingtoBPS.
However,reportsofmisbehavingRussian touristshavebeencoloringthelocalnewsfor awhilenow,includingstoriesofmisconduct atsacredplaces,vandalism,andworking withoutlegalpermits.Itbecamesointense thatevenBaliGovernorWayanKoster suggestedremovingRussiantouristsfrom Indonesia’slistofnationalitieseligiblefor visasonarrival.
DespitethedeclineinthenumberofRussian tourists,Balistillremainsapopular destinationfortouristsfromaroundtheworld. Theisland'sbeauty,richculture,andwarm hospitalitycontinuetoattractvisitorsfromall cornersoftheglobe.Infact,Bali'stourism industryhasbeenshowingsignsofrecovery inrecentmonths,withmoreandmorevisitors
Whenaskedaboutthereasonbehindthe declineofRussiantouristscomingtoBali, Endangsimplystateditneededmore research.“Weneeddeeperresearch[for thatquestion]becauseourdatarelease wasmonthly[notyearly],”shesaid. Astheworldcontinuestorecoverfromthe COVID-19pandemic,Baliispoisedto bouncebackstrongerthaneverbefore. Theisland'stourismindustryisresilient, andwithitsnaturalbeauty,richculture,and welcomingpeople,Baliwillalwaysbea populardestinationfortravelerslookingto escapeandexplore.
"RussianTouristsSlipOutofTop5NationalitiesVisitingBali,SingaporeansShow HighestIncreaseinMarch"
GreenturtletraffckercaughtinBaliafter24 yearsofslaughteringandsellingthemfor illegalconsumption
ABalinesemanwasarrestedforallegedly poachingandsellinggreenseaturtles (Cheloniamydas)formorethantwo decades,resultinginthedeathofcountless animals.MJ,48,aBenoaresident, reportedlypoachedgreenturtlesforthelast 24yearsandsoldturtlemeatasan ingredientforlawar–atraditionalBalinese dishcomprisingvegetables,coconut,and herbsmixedwithmeat.TheIndonesian governmenthasdesignatedseaturtlesasa protectedspeciessince1999,andtheactof poachingandsellingthemisstrictly prohibited.
WhenthepoliceraidedMJ’shouseonApril 30,theyfoundatleast21turtlesinapool, allofwhichwereseizedbytheauthorities.A largeplasticbagcontainingturtlemeat lawarwasalsoconfscated.Accordingto
BaliSeaandAirPoliceChiefSoelistijono,the turtlesweresentfromMadura,EastJavavia GilimanukPort,Jembrana.
Thepolicereceivedananonymoustipoff aboutlocalsinTanjungBenoaandNusaDua consuminglawarmadefromseaturtlemeat. Uponinspection,itwasrevealedthatMJ allegedlysoldturtlemeatforIDR300,000 (US$20.40)perpackage,althoughhenever reallyweighedthemeat.
Thecaptureofthisallegedtraffckerisa signifcantmilestoneintheconservationof greenturtlesinBali.Accordingtothe1990 lawonnaturalresourcesconservation,MJis facingchargesthatcarryamaximumpenalty offveyearsinprisonandafneofIDR100 million(US$7,000).Itishopedthatthisarrest sendsaclearmessagethatpoachingand traffckingofprotectedspecieswillnotbe tolerated,andsevereconsequenceswill followforthosewhoengageinsuch activities.
Seaturtlesareanessentialpartofthe oceanicecosystem,andtheirdeclinein numberscanhavefar-reaching consequencesonthemarineenvironment. InBali,conservationistshavebeen workingtoincreasethenumberofgreen turtles,andincidentsliketheseundermine theirefforts.TheBaliPoliceDepartment,in collaborationwithvariousconservation organizations,continuestoenforcestrict measurestoprotecttheisland'swildlife andpreserveitsnaturalresources.
"GreenTurtleTraffckerArrestedinBaliAfter24YearsofIllegalTrade"
BewareofBaliVisaScams:AustralianTouristsWarnofUnoffcialWebsitesandInvalid Visas
popularholidaydestinationarefoodedwith postsfromtravelerswhoareworriedand confusedaboutthesewebsites. TheIndonesiangovernmenthasstartedto takenoticeofthisissue.InDecember,the ImmigrationDirectorateGeneralatthe MinistryofLawandHumanRightsin Indonesiaannouncedthatitwas investigatingawebsitethatmayhave befuddledtouristsviatheirelectronicvisaon arrival(e-VOA)applicationplatform.
Unfortunately,sometravelershavefound thisoutthehardwayandarenow scramblingtogetrefundsfromtheirbanks, arguingthatthetransactionswere dishonest.Manysaytheyhavenotbeen successful.
AtravelerfromPerthwroteontheBali BogansFacebookpageabouttheir experiencetryingtogetavisaonline throughanunidentifedwebsite.
FuriousAustraliantravelersarewarning thoseheadingtoBali,thepopularholiday destination,nottomakeacostlymistake whentryingtoobtainvisasonline.
ManyAustraliantouristshaveclaimedthey wereleftconfusedbywebsitesoffering visaspriortoarrivalinBali.Unfortunately, somefoundouttoolatethatthewebsite theyclickedonwasn’ttheoffcialvisa websiterunbytheIndonesiangovernment andendeduppayingahigherfee.Itturned outthattheyhadunknowinglyusedan agencythatassistedtheminpurchasingthe visasthroughtheoffcialsite.
Ontheotherhand,sometravelerswho claimedtohaveboughtvisasonlytofnd outtheywereinvalidonarrivalinBaliwere leftwithnootheroptionthantobuyan offcialvisaattheairport,makingitaneven costlierordeal.
Duetothemassiveconfusioncausedby thesewebsites,socialmediapagesforthe
InterimImmigrationDirectorGeneralWidodo Ekatjahjanacautionedtravelersthatthe websiteIndonesiaeVOA(https:// www.indonesia-evoa.com)appearedinthe topsearchesonGoogle,butwasfarmore costlythangoingthroughtheoffcial governmentwebsite.
“Foreignersareaskedtobecautious,”Mr. Ekatjahjanasaid.
“LikethepaymentmechanismfortherealeVOA,inthis…website,foreignerscanalso makepaymentsusingapaymentgateway mechanism.Weremindyou,theonlyoffcial websitefore-VOAapplicationis molina.imigrasi.go.id.”
Itisimportanttonotethatthereisno suggestionthatthisparticularwebsiteoffered invalidvisasorscammedpeople. However,thereareotherwebsitesonGoogle thatmaynotbeontheIndonesian government’sradar,andtheyallegedlysting unsuspectingtravelerswithheftyextrafees toassistinobtainingthevisas.
“Peoplebewaree-VOA(visaonarrival),I justgotonlineandpaidformyVOA thinkingIwaspayingaround$A50,turns outIjustpaid$204each.Icannotbe refunded,expensivemistake.”
Anothercommented:“I’mgoingtoBalifor 60daysandIhavepurchasedavisa onlinecalledB213visaandithascost $150.Cananyonepleasetellifthisisa legitvisatype,orisitascambecause otherwebsitesaresayingitshouldonlybe $A50attheairport?Iamabitstressed thatit’snotarealvisa.”
Itisvitaltoseekoutlegitimatesourcesfor visaswhentravelingabroad.Incaseone becomesavictimofascamoverseas, Smartravelleradvisesthatoneshould reporttheincidenttolocalauthoritiesand alsocontactthenearestAustralian EmbassyorConsulateforassistance.
IndonesiahasaddedPanama,Guatemala, andMacautothelistofcountrieseligiblefor visas-on-arrival(VoA),bringingthetotal numberofnationsabletoaccessVoAsto 92.ACircularMemorandum(No. IMI-0133.GR.01.01Tahun2023)from Indonesianimmigrationauthoritiesreleased onApril16,2023,confrmedtheadditionof thesethreecountries.
Inastatementpublishedonthesameday, AchmadNurSaleh,theSub-coordinatorfor PublicRelationsfortheDirectorGeneralof Immigration,said:“TheDirector-Generalof ImmigrationcommentedthatKenyaand Rwanda,inFebruary2023,wereaddedto
thelistofcountrieseligibleforanIndonesia visa-on-arrival.”
VoAsaresuitablefortourismvisits, governmentalvisits,tripsforbusiness meetings,purchasingtrips,andtransitstops. AVisa-on-Arrivalisvalidfor30daysandcan beextendedforanother30days,butit cannotbeconvertedintoanothervisaclass.
TobeeligibleforaVoA,passportsmusthave aminimumofsixmonthsofremaining validityatthetimeofvisaissuance.Itisalso importanttonotethatsomenationalitiesmay stillrequireavisabeforeenteringIndonesia.
Achmadexplainedthatthereisalsoan
ElectronicVisa-on-Arrival(e-VOA)thatcan beobtainedonlineandmustbeusedwithin 90daysofitsissuance.Thee-VOAsystem allowsapplicantstoapplyandpayforthe visaonlinebeforearrivinginIndonesia,thus streamliningtheimmigrationprocess.
Thee-VOAisavailableforthesame purposesastheVoA,anditisalsovalidfor 30days,withthepossibilityofextendingfor another30days.AsofApril2023,thecostof
ane-VOAisUSD35,andthepaymentcan bemadethroughvariouspayment gatewaysprovidedonthee-VOAwebsite.
Thelistof92countriesnoweligibleto receiveaVisa-on-Arrivalassetforthinthe ImmigrationCircularMemorandum (IMI-0133.GR.01.01tahun2023)includes manymajorworldeconomiessuchasthe UnitedStates,Japan,Germany,and China,aswellassmallernationssuchas Suriname,Malta,andtheSeychelles.
Indonesiahasbeenworkingonsimplifying itsvisasystemandmakingitmore accessibletotouristsandbusinessvisitors inrecentyears.InadditiontotheVoAand e-VOA,thecountryalsooffersfreevisa entryforcitizensofcertaincountries,such asASEANmemberstates,Australia,and NewZealand,forupto30days.
Thesemeasuresaimtoboosttourismand economicgrowthinthecountry,whichis hometosomeoftheworld’smostbeautiful beaches,uniqueculturalheritagesites, andvibrantcities.
