When it comes to visiting Indonesia, many escape to Bali, Manado, Komodo Island and other fascinating sites. In an attempt to attract more visitors here, the Indonesian government have eased restrictions.
Indonesia has increased Immigration Check-points for Malaysian travellers, abolished Clearance Approval for Indonesia Territory (CAIT) for Singaporean yachts to enter Indonesia territories via 18 ports and abolished Asas Cabotage which gives priority access to cruises departing and arriving at the five harbours in Indonesia.
The government has also removed visa requirements for 90 countries on short trips which has translated to an increase of 15% in inbound tourists compared to last year. Foreign visitors can now enter Indonesia without a visa for a 30-day stay.
Singapore is amongst the 15 countries or Special Administrative Regions which already receive visa exemption. The other 14 countries include Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Chile, Morocco, Peru, Vietnam, Ecuador, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. There are 125 immigration checkpoints including 29 airports, 88 seaports and seven Trans Boundary Posts that offers visit-visa free entry.
What used to take three weeks for yachts to get permits to sail to Indonesian ports from Singapore has now been reduced substantially shorter time frames as short as immediate sailing. Clearance approval for Indonesia Territory (CAIT) for yachters to enter Indonesian territories via 18 ports have been abolished since 30 September 2015. Foreign yachts entering Indonesia territories get easy entry with Custom, Immigration, Quarantine and Port (CIQP) documents in 18 ports. Boats can dock for up to three years.
The abolition of the Cabotage Principals gives access to foreign cruises to embark or disembark at five ports here. The five sea ports are at Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Belawan in Medan, Soekarno-Hatta in Makassar and Benoa in Bali. Cruise liners from Singapore can drop off tourists in these Indonesian ports and pick new passengers on board from these ports. The Indonesian government hopes that Cruise Liners would start organising new voyage routes which can take up to a year. Today there are 460 calls of ships to Indonesia. Indonesia has a target of four million tourists by 2019.
Indonesia is an archipelago of some 17,000 islands of which 4,000 have not even been named yet with a population of 250 million. 6,000 of these islands are inhabited. Indonesia has the highest number of species of flowering plants in the world, with 28,000 species. Of these 28,000 species, there are 2,500 orchid species, 6,000 species of traditional medicinal plants, 122 species of bamboo, over 350 species of rattan and 400 species of Dipterocarpus family including Ebony, Sandalwood and Teakwood amongst others.
It is in the coral triangle with an environment of corals. The Indonesian coral reefs of over 500 species of corals, seagrass meadows and mangroves are home to more than 3,000 species of fish. You can find the Dendronephthya Carnation soft coral, commonly known as the Cauliflower Soft Coral or Strawberry Soft Coral. There are over 250 different Dendronephthya species and is found in a variety of bright colours with red or orange being the most common. Indonesia is only home to 8,700 species of fish.
There are 10 diving sites here with amazing views including Raja Ampat, Togean, Komodo, Bunaken, Bali, Lombok, Bangka Belitung, Weh, Wakatobi and Banda.
On 9 March 2016, you would be able to catch the total solar eclipse at Belitung Island which happens once every 250 year. Activities have been planned on 9 and 10 March.
Visitors visiting Indonesia from Singapore in 2015 is estimated at 2 million and it expects 2.3 million in 2016 and 3.7 million in 2017. There are four direct ferries from Singapore to nearby Indonesian islands such as Batam and Bintan and 14 direct flights from Singapore to Indonesian airports.
